13-year-old girl missing since early August found in Beaver County Jail, police say
ALIQUIPPA, Pa. (KDKA) -- Police have located a 13-year-old girl who was last seen over a month ago. She was sitting in the Beaver County Jail.
"From my point of view, if I wouldn't have called and said, 'Hey, they'll find her,' she would've still been [in the jail]," said Domenique Arnold.
The 13-year-old was last seen Aug. 2, and as of Monday, people were still looking for her.
But the girl was found on Aug. 17 and booked into the Beaver County Jail after she was allegedly caught stealing at the Dollar General in Beaver Falls with a 25-year-old woman.
Officials did not realize the girl in the jail was the same as the missing teen because she gave a fake name.
"She told me someone wants to talk to you, so I got on the phone and said, 'What's up.' She said, 'My name is Mae Wilson. Could I use your address so I could come home from jail,'" Arnold explained.
It all came together for Arnold on Saturday when her friend told her.
"She said, 'Do you remember that girl that called you?' I said yes. 'She's in here, and she's missing.'"
Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible said the 13-year-old lied to police about her age, and name and told them she was homeless.
According to Bible, officers ran her fingerprints and found nothing. Officers also called Beaver County Children Youth Services.
Bible said a guard or inmate eventually sounded the alarm. He believes investigators did everything they could.
"I guess the moral here is don't lie to the police," Bibe said. "For whatever reason, this is someone who didn't want to go home and preferred jail."
KDKA-TV has learned that once alerted, the teen was taken out of the general jail population, and her parents were called.
Arnold believes jail officials dropped the ball.
The Beaver County District Attorney said the teen will face retail theft, resisting arrest, and possibly a false identification charge in juvenile court.