Missing Dearborn Heights teen found safe; police give update

Missing Dearborn Heights teen found safe; police give update

FULL PRESS CONFERENCE: Police Chief Ahmed Haidar held a press conference to give details on the discovery of a missing 16-year-old who was found safe.

FOX 2 - A missing Dearborn Heights teen feared to have been sex-trafficked has been found and is safe. A 62-year-old man who she was with is now in custody and facing possible charges, police said on Thursday.

The girl was recovered in the area of Inkster and Warren Avenue in Dearborn Heights. She was with the older man but it is unclear if she was sexually abused by him, pending rape kit test results.

Police Chief Ahmed Haidar said that the girl was not restrained or trapped in the house, and was able to freely go with the man out for errands and food. 

"It's hard because you sit here and wonder, we've been looking for you for almost three weeks," he said. "You know you had a phone, you never reached out. What were you promised, what were you scared of? That's what we're going to find out."

The girl is now in the custody of Child Protective Services and her family has been notified. The investigation into the older man is ongoing.

Police are looking into whether the teen may have been sex-trafficked or made contact with two johns.  One of them has been identified and is in his mid-30s and the other is unknown. Haidar said police will be questioning her about it.

She went missing on March 14 when she left Vista Maria, a juvenile center that troubled children stay at. She was later seen at Beech Daly and Joy roads on March 17.

Missing teen found safe may have been sex trafficked, say police

A missing Dearborn Heights teen feared to have been sex-trafficked has been found and is safe. A 62-year-old man who she was with is now in custody and facing possible charges, police said on Thursday.

The backstory:

According to Dearborn Heights police, she was then picked up by an individual who they believe abducted and assaulted her at a hotel. She was later brought back to same area and was seen sleeping near a shed in Detroit.

Three days later on March 17, she was picked up by a separate man and taken to a hotel in Redford where police believe she was assaulted again.

Dearborn Heights teen found safe, man in 60's arrested

She went missing on March 14 when she left Vista Maria, a juvenile center that troubled children stay at. She was later seen at Beech Daly and Joy roads on March 17.

Dearborn Heights police had been pleading for help locating her whereabouts from the public and an $8,000 reward had been offered for information leading to finding her.

Vista Maria is a nonprofit dedicated to helping at-risk girls - many of whom have experienced trauma, abuse or neglect. The large campus located at the corner of Telegraph and Ann Arbor Trail offer counseling, residence and education support among other services for recovery.

Stay with FOX 2 for more information when it becomes available.