New details are coming out about the case of the missing 13-year-old who was found alive over three decades later!
As we previously reported, Christina Marie Plante “vanished without a trace” from Star Valley, Arizona, in 1994. Years went by, and no one found her, that is, until recently. The Gila County Sheriff’s Office gave everyone a shocking update on the case on Wednesday, announcing that they located Christina, now 44! OMG! She is safe, thankfully!
However, there are, of course, a lot of questions about what happened to Christina — like why she disappeared or where cops found her. GCSO did not reveal any additional details about the situation during the announcement, but we are getting more answers now!
It turns out Christina, who is now living under a different name, was NOT kidnapped! She ran away! She admitted this to a cold case investigator from the Gila County Sheriff’s Office, saying that family members helped her leave. Chief Deputy James Lahti told NBC News on Friday:
“This was information we had not been aware of before we located her. Up until then, we didn’t know where she was and we were under the impression she had been kidnapped.”
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Although everyone thinks the police solved the mystery this year, that is not entirely the case! Terry Hudgens, a former Gila County sheriff’s deputy who initially investigated her disappearance, said he could not believe all the interest in the case. Why, you ask? He claimed law enforcement resolved it shortly after she was reported missing! HUH?!
According to Hudgens, there was a “custody battle” over Christina, or “Tina,” at the time. Her dad allegedly had custody of her, but she wanted to live with her mother instead. So, he explained, the pair orchestrated a plan for the then-teen to meet up with her mom while Christina was walking to a nearby stable to see her horse in 1994. Once together, Hudgens said they drove to the airport in Phoenix and flew out of state — and even “maybe out of the country.”
Hudgens claimed the department dropped the investigation once they determined Christina was safe. However, Lahti said the case was never officially closed until recently. He also confirmed Christina told them certain family members helped her disappear, but gave no other details:
“We’re still in the process of looking into what happened and as new information develops we will be providing updates.”
Gila Sheriff J. Adam Shepherd provided another update on Facebook on Friday, saying that Christina had been reported missing by her uncle, Gary Plante. At the time, law enforcement tracked down a vehicle suspected to be involved in her disappearance to a nearby hotel, and “deputies believed Christina may have been taken by her non-custodial parent, her mother.” The statement noted, though, “that information could not be verified at the time.” Christina was located alive “through the use of current technology,” and she is “living within the United States.” Her exact location hasn’t been disclosed at this time. The sheriff added:
“However, she was not willing to cooperate with investigators regarding the circumstances of her disappearance.”
Capt. Jamie Garrett, who located Christina, told NewsNation that she “was dumbfounded” when she reached the missing woman by phone one day:
“I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. Okay, so you ran away.’ I told her … ‘You know, we were under the impression that somebody kidnapped you? It was deemed a criminal offense.’ I guess she [Plante] wasn’t happy with where she was living and who she was living with, and she ran away.”
There are not many other details about where Christina is, as we mentioned, but Garrett shared that the woman said she had not wanted to be found:
“She said that was a long time ago, that was an old life. She’s in her adult life. She has her family now. That’s not something she even thinks about.”
What a wild situation! We’re just glad Christina is OK at the end of the day!
What are your reactions, Perezcious readers? Share ’em in the comments (below)!
[Image via Gila County Sheriff’s Office]
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