Missing Teen Says She Needed to 'Get Away'
Tisha Muentes took a bus to Indianapolis
Thursday, Nov 13, 2008 | Updated 11:23 AM CDT
A 15-year-old girl at the center of a search organized by Chicago firefighters and her parents is home safe on Thursday, after going to Indianapolis, allegedly to "get away."
The 15-year-old girl missing since she left home for school on Monday morning has been found, police said late Wednesday night.
According to published reports, Tisha Muentes was safely at home, according to family sources.
Police early Thursday said Muentes “felt she needed to get away for a while’’ for personal reasons and had saved up the money to take a bus ride, eventually arriving in Indianapolis, Ind.
“She seemed mentally stable and healthy,’’ according to a detective who interviewed her in person and said foul play is not suspected in the incident, which he called a voluntary absence.
“I asked her if she was meeting anybody in Indiana and she replied no,’’ the detective said.
Police believe it was the first time she had ever been missing and no charges will be brought against her.
“It was a happy ending so that’s the important thing,’’ the detective said.
Earlier on Wednesday, authorities said Muentes made contact with "known acquaintances" in recent days.
Grand Central Area detectives said the girl called her father just after 9 p.m. Wednesday to let him know she had returned. Two detectives went to the family's home Wednesday night to interview the girl, who "looked well."
Detectives are still talking to the girl and information on her whereabouts for the past two days was not available.
A $10,000 reward was offered earlier Wednesday by real estate mogul Fred Latsko, a resident of the 43rd Ward, in which the girl's high school is located.
A group of firefighters representing Ignite the Spirit, a charitable organization that helps Chicago firefighters in times of need, said it planned to announce a separate, "sizable" reward for any information about Muentes' disappearance.
The teen's firefighter father and paramedic mother spearheaded the search for their daughter earlier in the week, as friends said it was not like Tisha to disappear on her own.
"I've known her since kindergarten. This is not typical of her," one friend said.
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