A 10-year-old Texas girl reported missing after her father allegedly abducted her was located Saturday morning in another country, and her father is in police custody.
The Collin County Sheriff’s Office said that Sophie Long is in protective custody and “arrangements are being made for her safe return to her family in the United States.”
Press Release – 12.11.21
For Immediate Release:
The Collin County Sheriff’s Office confirms that Sophie Long has been located in a foreign country and is in protective custody. Arrangements are being made for her safe return to her family in the United States. pic.twitter.com/sdR0milSaj— Collin Co. Sheriff (@CollinCoSO) December 11, 2021
“Many months of determined work by my deputies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Marshals paid off this morning,” Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said. “We are so happy that Sophie is safe.”
Her father, Michael Long, was taken into custody on a warrant for interference in custody, the sheriff’s office said, and the US government is working to extradite him back to Texas.
Officials did not say where the Longs were located nor how they were found.
Michael Long has been fighting for custody of Sophie and two other children for some time, as CrimeOnline previously reported, and last year posted a GoFundMe to raise money for his battle, accusing his ex-wife, Kelly Long, of abusing the children.
Kelly Long denied the allegations, and in September 2020, an attorney “appointed by the court to represent the best interests of the children” concluded that that the children’s mother would be able to better provide for them. Michael Long was awarded visitation.
Earlier this year, as the custody battle continued, Michael Long showed up at court without Sophie, who was not seen again.
Even the father’s current wife, Kourtney Chalmers, said at the time that “Michael is not a stable person for Sophie to be with and he has threatened to flee the country with her.”
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[Featured image: Michael Long and Sophie Long via Kourtney Chalmers/Facebook]
Source: This post first appeared on https://www.crimeonline.com/feed/
