Missing New Hampshire teen home after 9 months

CONWAY, N.H. - A 15-year-old New Hampshire girl who disappeared while on her way home from school nine months ago is safely home with her family, the state attorney general said Monday.

Abigail Hernandez was reunited with her family on Sunday evening, Attorney General Joseph Foster said.

Foster said the family has asked for privacy. He said Abigail's mother, Zenya Hernandez, told authorities "today we are the happiest people on earth."

Police said Abigail was last seen Oct. 9 after leaving Kennett High School in Conway. Police said she walked her normal route toward her house and sent several texts between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. But she never made it home.

Police did reveal several months ago that she had written home to her mother. When the letter surfaced, FBI Special Agent In Charge Kieran Ramsey said there was the possibility that Abigail had run away but that someone could still be coercing her into staying away from home.

In a brief statement, Foster said the criminal investigation in Abigail's disappearance will continue. The statement went on to say that further details regarding the teen's disappearance will not be released until it is determined that releasing that additional information will not "compromise the integrity of the on-going criminal investigation."

After Abigail disappeared, police initially said she made it home, but later said she hadn't. Police also at first said she made a call at about 6:30 p.m. that day but later said that, too, was wrong.

After she vanished, police consistently said they have no evidence to suggest anything suspicious and were treating her disappearance as a missing-person's case.