A teenage girl reported missing for nearly 10 days from Raynham, Massachusetts was found safe in New York City, police said Thursday night.
Raynham Police say 16-year-old Colleen Weaver was located around 11pm with assistance from the NYPD and the FBI.
The missing teenager was found through “investigative means” in collaboration with her law enforcement partners, according to Raynham police, but few other details have been released.
Raynham Police Chief James Donovan thanked everyone involved in Weaver’s search, including numerous law enforcement partners, media members and residents, who helped spread word of the girl’s disappearance.
“We are very pleased to have found Colleen and that she will soon be reuniting with her family,” Donovan said in a statement. “This was the best possible outcome we could have hoped for and I want to commend the tireless efforts of our dedicated officers and our NYPD and FBI partners who helped locate it. It has been a rough couple of weeks for everyone involved. and I want to thank everyone who contributed to this huge effort. “
In the past few days, investigators had received about 75 suggestions from people in New England and other areas.
Police did not say whether Weaver was found with anyone, or what brought them to New York City. The chief said no further information is available at the moment.
Weaver was reported missing for the first time after leaving her home between 1:00 am and 4:00 am on Tuesday, October 18. Authorities had said they believed she had run away with someone else and that she may have traveled 100 miles from her home.
A few hours before she was found Thursday night in New York, a wake was held, in which Weaver’s mother broke down in tears as she pleaded with her daughter to come home.
“Contact us, we will come to see you, I don’t care where it is, we will come to see you,” said Kristen Weaver during the wake. “I just want him home. That’s enough. That’s enough. I want to wake up from this nightmare. That’s enough.”
Kristen Weaver also told waking that her daughter has cognitive and learning disabilities that make her overconfident and have poor decision-making skills. She said that she didn’t think her daughter had run away, noting that while her daughter had disappeared before her, she had been alone for a couple of hours and she had never left town.
Police said Thursday night that the teenager will soon be reunited with his family.
