SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A missing girl whose disappearance prompted a state advisory in South Dakota is safe.
Per the office of South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, the 16-year-old who was last seen in Fort Pierre, S.D. Friday night was found safe in Colorado. Jackley says such an advisory is relatively rare, but Saturday’s case called for it.
“It’s especially concerning because her age, she’s 16, she has medications that she didn’t take with her and she’s not responding to her cell phone,” Jackley said in an interview Monday afternoon before the child’s safety was announced. “So based upon that, we were concerned enough to get to, to have the alert issued, and the hope is somebody in the public can give us some more information.”
The nonprofit organization Call to Freedom, which supports people impacted by human trafficking, shared an advisory about the missing girl on Facebook. President and CEO Becky Rasmussen says there was certainly reason for concern.
“We do know when kids are missing that they are in danger of being physical and sexually abused, addiction, homelessness, and also sex trafficking,” Rasmussen said Monday afternoon in an interview also done before the girl’s safety was known. “And we know that we have a small window of time to really get them on the radar and keep their case high profile.”
The public can help out, Rasmussen says, by sharing on social media and by remembering familiar, common-sense advice: if you see something, say something.
“Typically if you identify the car in your community or you’ve seen this young girl, every tip matters to making sure that she’s found,” Rasmussen said.
“Time is off the essence, so 911,” Jackley said. “Let local law enforcement know immediately so that we can act upon that information.”
Interested recipients can sign up for endangered alerts here.
