A Florida teenager who vanished after surveillance cameras captured her slipping out of her home before dawn has been found safe more than 1,200 miles away.
“Sophia was found safe in New Jersey by the FBI, and tonight our family finally gets to say the words we have been praying for: Our girl is safe,” her relieved father, Rick Cover, wrote in a Facebook post.
Cover credited the investigators who worked to locate his daughter, specifically thanking the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and Detective Marisol Rodriguez, along with everyone who helped spread the word about the case.
“And to this incredible community, our friends, our family, and thousands of people we have never even met who shared Sophia’s face, prayed for her, sent tips, made videos, hung flyers, and kept her story alive: THANK YOU,” he wrote.
Speaking with Gulf Coast News, Cover said he plans to fly to New Jersey as soon as possible to see Sophia again after 11 days apart.
He said she had been staying with friends, but added that he is still awaiting information from the Department of Children and Families about how she traveled so far from home and when he will be able to bring her back.
“We’re going to take it a day at a time. I’m going to go up and get her. We’re going to find out exactly what happened,” Cover told the outlet.
Home surveillance footage from the family’s residence in Golden Gate Estates showed the 16-year-old leaving in the early morning hours of July 31 for reasons that remain unclear.
Her anguished father threw himself into finding the girl, refusing to believe she’d run away from home, and spearheaded a massive effort, both online and in the community, to search for clues into her mysterious disappearance.
