Michigan

Teenage Girl Missing Over Year Found in Closet of Michigan Home

A U.S. Marshals fugitive team found the girl in Port Huron, about 62 miles northeast of Detroit

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A 14-year-old girl who was reported missing over a year ago by her foster family was found Tuesday hiding in the closet of a Michigan home, authorities said.

A U.S. Marshals fugitive team found the girl in Port Huron, about 62 miles northeast of Detroit. Child Protective Services took her to a hospital, where it was discovered that she was pregnant.

“She was crying,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Watson told the Detroit Free Press. “She didn’t know where she was going to go. She wasn’t sure what was going to be happening to her. She was pretty terrified. And she was afraid of losing her baby.”

Authorities are pursuing parental kidnapping charges against the girl’s biological mother, who previously lost custody of her daughter, Watson said.

The mother is believed to have found the girl after she ran away and started moving the girl from house to house, authorities said. The girl has been reunited with her biological father.

"He had been dealing with this nightmare for a year and a half," Watson said. "And he’s in a much better place now."

State police contacted Watson on Tuesday seeking help in locating the girl. Tips led authorities to the home.

“The occupants refused us entry, wouldn’t talk to us or give us any information,” he told The Detroit News. “We ended up having to serve a search warrant to get inside.”

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