Neighbors react after missing Washington girl found safe in West Tennessee

CARROLL COUNTY, Tenn. — A 17-year-old Washington girl who went missing more than a month ago was found safe in West Tennessee.

“We basically became close. She thought of me like a mom instead of a friend or neighbor,” a neighbor who does not want to be identified said.

Huntingdon Department of Public Safety Director Walter Smothers says a tip came in just after 8 o’clock Friday morning.

A concerned citizen said there might be people missing from Tacoma, Washington, staying in the area.

“We did have some BOLOs through the police department. They gave a description of the vehicle and license plate,” Smothers said.

When officers, along with deputies from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department, rushed to the mobile home park where the car was located, they found the girl and the 47-year-old man she was traveling with outside.

“She dyed her hair a lot darker and cut it shorter, but it was her,” Smothers said.

Neighbors say the two posed as a married couple, and the girl claimed she was 20 years old and went by a different name.

“It came as a big surprise,” the neighbor said. “I thought something was going on, but I didn’t know for sure.”

Investigators say the man she was traveling with was also taken into custody, but the Tacoma Police Department says no charges will be filed against him.

Because the girl is a juvenile, WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News is not publishing her name.

Investigators say she is being held in the Carroll County Jail awaiting an interview with the Department of Children’s Services before arrangements are made for her to return home.