WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a 12-year-old Kansas girl has been found in Michigan after her parents reported she left her home with a Canadian man she met on the Internet.
Michigan State Police Lt. T.J. Riegle says the girl and a man were stopped while driving Friday afternoon southwest of Lansing. Riegle says both are being held as police "sort things out."
El Dorado Police Chief Tom Boren says the girl's parents told investigators had last seen her about 2 a.m. Thursday and believed she had left her home with 20-year-old Kenneth Stewart McGill, of Ontario, Canada. They reported her missing about 12 hours later. The girl's father had refused to comment to The Associated Press earlier Friday.
McGill previously had been reported missing and suicidal by his parents.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 12-year-old Kansas girl's parents didn't report her missing until 12 hours after they believe she left her home with a Canadian man she met on the Internet, police said Friday.
El Dorado Police Chief Tom Boren said the girl was last seen at 2 a.m. Thursday and her parents reported her missing about 2 p.m. that day. Boren has no explanation for the delay, and her father refused to comment Friday to The Associated Press.
"We don't understand that completely at this point," Boren said.
"I don't quite follow," he added, "and my supposition would be that maybe they didn't understand that this was going on, or maybe thought she was with a girlfriend or something. I don't know."
Boren said the parents told investigators they believe the girl may have gotten into a car driven by 20-year-old Kenneth Stewart McGill, of Ontario, Canada.
"They were the ones who offered that information to us," Boren said of the parents. "I don't know exactly how they knew that."
Police believe McGill is driving a white 2006 Chevrolet Impala with Canadian license plates BMZH 238. He was registered Thursday at a motel in El Dorado, a town of about 13,000 people about 30 miles northeast of Wichita.
The car was spotted in Illinois on Thursday afternoon.
"A lot of this is a waiting game, too," Boren said.
McGill's parents previously had reported the car stolen and that their son was suicidal.
