A missing Florida teen was found over 1,200 miles from home after being in the early hours last month.
“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 overjoyed father, , shared on Facebook Monday evening.
He heaped praise upon investigators working the case, singling out the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and Detective Marisol Rodriguez, and thanked everyone who played a part or spared a thought for his daughter.
The search for Sophia Veronica Cover, 16, began after she was seen leaving her home in Golden Gate Estates on Friday, July 31. Collier County Sheriff’s Office
“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.
“For the first time in what feels like forever, I can finally say this: Sophia has been found. Sophia is safe,” Cover wrote. “From the bottom of this dad’s heart, thank you all.”
He told that he’s planning on flying to New Jersey as soon as he can to reunite after not seeing her for 11 days.
He said she was found staying with friends, and that he’s still waiting for word from the Department of Children and Families about how she got so far from home and when he can pick her up.
She was seen on surveillance footage leaving her home on foot. Gulf Coast News
Richard Cover announced that his daughter was found safe. obtained by New York Post
“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.
Surveillance footage from the family home at Golden Gate Estates showed the 16-year-old leaving the residence in the twilight hours of July 31 for no known reason.
“Our girl is safe,” her overjoyed father shared on Facebook. The Floriida Themis Project
Her 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 .
“Everybody is looking for you. And, if you’re out there on your own, it’s really easy to come home. You can go to any police officer. You can go to any adult that is safe,” Cover said in a desperate plea to his daughter at the time.