North Miami Beach

Missing South Florida Girl Found Safe, Hundreds of Miles Away

Police say the teen was targeted by a stranger she met online

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These cases don’t always end so well. 

North Miami Beach Police detectives, working with the FBI, have located a missing 15-year-old girl hundreds of miles away, in Philadelphia, after she vanished Saturday morning. 

Police Chief Richard Rand said in a news conference that Jeimy Henrriquez met a stranger online, and that man took the girl away while her mom was at work. 

“I can tell you that it’s absolutely despicable, the way that person preyed on this young lady," Rand said. "She was actually playing a video game and there was a chat feature and this person was able to find out where she lived and who she was and actually went to the home when the parents weren’t there and took her, absolutely horrific."

Ana Quintanilla told us in Spanish she feels guilty that as a single mom, she has no choice but to leave her daughter alone while she works. Quintanilla said Jeimy was extremely unhappy and therefore, especially vulnerable. She said she was very happy and relieved when police told her they had found Jeimy alive. 

“You know, and the warning out there is this is a stark wake-up call for parents to make sure they’re paying attention to what their children are doing online,” Rand said. “When somebody starts asking you specific questions, your name, your birthday, how old are you, where you live, that should be a red flag to immediately disconnect that phone call and tell your parents, 100%.”

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