A Florida teenager who disappeared from her Naples home nearly two weeks ago has been found safe in New Jersey, ending an urgent search that left her family fearing she may have been pressured or lured away.
Sophia Veronica Cover, 16, left home in the early morning hours of July 31. The last known images of her showed the teen on unsettling surveillance footage with a sweatshirt pulled over her head as she ran into the darkness.
Her family had made emotional public appeals for help, and on Monday the Collier County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Sophia had been located unharmed more than 1,200 miles from home.
Her father, Richard Cover, delivered the update through the Florida Themis Project, a nonprofit organization that supports families and victims connected to unsolved crimes.
‘Sophia has been found safe. Totally safe. She was picked up at a friend’s house in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, by the FBI,’ Cover said tearfully.
Cover said federal agents were speaking with Sophia and that he was preparing to travel to New Jersey to be reunited with his daughter.
‘All the bad things that I thought were happening and could happen, it sounds like just some teenagers deciding that they were smarter than everybody else and decided to go hang out together for a few days, then it turned into 11,’ Cover added.
The relieved father thanked the community for its support and became emotional as he reflected on the terrifying days spent not knowing where Sophia was.
Sophia Cover, 16, has been found 11 days after she was reported missing in Naples, Florida
Cover was last seen in the early hours of July 31 on surveillance camera footage leaving her Florida home
Cover was found in New Jersey on Monday. Her father said he was flying to pick her up and she was being interviewed by the FBI
‘Just the amount of love and support that I’ve gotten, my family’s gotten, my daughter’s gotten, with no judgment, and all love,’ he continued.
‘I have no words. I feel like I have faith in humanity again.’
Through tears, Cover said that his daughter was safe and healthy, adding that the next part of being a dad was ‘figuring out what to do next.’
Cover thanked the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and Detective Marisol Rodriguez in a separate post on Facebook, acknowledging that he put a ‘tremendous amount of pressure’ on them.
‘I’m Sophia’s dad, and I was scared, frustrated, emotional, and determined to find my daughter. Detective Rodriguez handled all of that while still doing her job and keeping this investigation moving,’ he wrote.
‘For the first time in what feels like forever, I can finally say this: Sophia has been found. Sophia is safe. From the bottom of this dad’s heart, thank you all.’
It’s unclear how Sophia traveled from Florida to New Jersey. Her father said in his recent video that he would be sharing more information after their reunion.
He told Gulf Coast News Now that the sheriff called him at 4pm on Monday and said, ‘We got her!’
Sophia’s father, Richard Cover, had launched a viral social media campaign to find his daughter
Cover shared photos and videos of Sophia in the days of her disappearance. He said her siblings and family were worried for her
Cover said Sophia was safe and had been picked up at a friend’s house
Cover added that he was praying Sophia’s disappearance was the result of rebellion, confessing that even though he does not like that she ran away, he was grateful that she kept herself safe, and that kids make mistakes.
He shared online that Sophia came to live with him in Pennsylvania in 2014 after living with her mother in Panama.
Cover previously told Gulf Coast News Now that they moved to Florida just four months ago.
Cover had feared the worst after his daughter disappeared, telling the outlet: ‘I think that she left the house because someone either convinced her to, or promised her something and I think that she’s in trouble right now. I think someone has my daughter, is what I believe.’
‘That’s what I believe, and I hope I’m wrong.’
The father launched a social media campaign to find his daughter, sharing multiple videos of loved ones speaking about Sophia under the hashtag #FindSophia.
Cover plans to fly to New Jersey on Wednesday to reunite with Sophia and learn more about her disappearance.
