The 16-year-old girl who vanished after sending a hoax tweet that someone was in her house has returned home safely, following a 48-hour period that sent the Internet into a roller coaster of reactions.
Police found Kara Alongi walking along the side of a New Jersey highway and took her to a nearby hospital for evaluation, a common practice in teenage runaway cases, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger The news comes as Alongi faked her own kidnapping on Sunday night after asking her Twitter followers to call 911, saying "there is someone in my [house]."
The Internet quickly responded to her message. The hashtag #HelpFindKara trended on a global level on Twitter and nearly 34,000 people retweeted her call for help to raise awareness about the incident. Not to mention the more than 6,000 phone calls the local police department received after her tweet went viral.
But when Alongi's family returned home that same night and the area was inspected by police, it soon became clear that there were no indications of forced entry or stolen property.
There is somone in my hour ecall 911
— Kara Alongi (@KaraAlongi) September 30, 2012
Authorities traced her scent from the back of the house to a neighbor's yard until it disappeared, the report said.
It has since been confirmed that a cab driver dropped off a young girl who matched Alongi's description at a nearby train station. Police spotted on a security camera that she had purchased a train ticket to New York City. Her iPhone was found on her dresser at home.
"The investigation quickly revealed a number of inconsistencies in the teen's statement," police said in a statement. "Specifically, it was discovered that a person called a local taxi company asking for a car at Alongi's address around the same time the Twitter message was posted."
Twitter users who showed concern just hours earlier started turning to the site to express their frustration with the event.
#helpfindkara a hoax? disgusted.
— dεnnbbbbiighh(@denbighbeedle) October 1, 2012
This kara girl went from the most worried about girl on twitter, to the most hated.
— Bryan Soth (@BryanTS18) October 1, 2012
Her mother said the move was "out of character" for the honor student. The teenager complained of a headache before her parents left the house to bring her brothers to a hockey practice and went to rest in bed. Her parents said they weren't aware of any hardships happening at home or at school.
It's unknown at this time if Alongi will be charged for faking her own kidnapping.
Image via @KaraAlongi
This story originally published on Mashable here.