A 14-year-old girl who was reported missing over a year ago was found hiding in a closet in a home in Port Huron, Michigan, by U.S. Marshals.
"She was crying," Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Watson told the Detroit Free Press. "She didn't know where she was going to go. She was pretty terrified. And she was afraid of losing her baby."
Officials said that the girl was reported missing by her foster home in September 2021 after she reportedly ran away. Investigators believe that the girl's biological mother, who previously lost custody of the girl, found her and moved her around between different houses.
The case remained cold until Tuesday (February 7) morning when Watson received a call from the Michigan State Police asking for help locating a missing girl who may have been the victim of sexual abuse.
Within a few hours, federal agents secured a search warrant at the home in Port Huron. The occupants of the house were uncooperative and denied having any knowledge about the missing girl. While Watson was interviewing a man about 18-19 years old, officers located the girl in the closet.
The man, along with the other three occupants of the house, all acted shocked the girl was in the closet.
"He was like, 'Oh'... he's completely caught with his hand in the cookie jar and didn't know how to formulate anything," Watson said.
The girl was taken to the hospital, where doctors discovered she was between four and five months pregnant. Watson said that she would be reunited with her biological father.
"She was ecstatic about that," Watson said. "She was just afraid that if she was found, she would go back in the system."
Officials are planning to charge the girl's biological mother with parental kidnapping. It is unclear if any of the other occupants of the house will face charges.