An 8-year-old girl, Nevaeh Blaine, has been confirmed safe after disappearing for 13 hours on Sunday, July 16.
Blaine, whose first name is “heaven” spelt backward, was reported missing by her mother at 9:45 a.m. and found around 11 p.m. Newark police spent the day frantically searching on the ground and eventually from the air.
Her mother said she had been playing in the courtyard playground of their housing complex at 78 S. Munn Ave. in Newark, New Jersey. Friends at the playground told authorities they saw her walking in the direction of a local grocery store.
Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, said no Amber Alert was raised because they did not believe Nevaeh had been abducted.
A group of mothers assisting with the search got a tip-off from a woman over the phone after sticking up their own posters. They found Nevaeh sitting on a bench at a bus stop near Newark Penn Station with a woman who turned out to be a family friend, according to NBC New York.
Baraka said the woman who took the girl was a family friend and the case appears to have been some sort of misunderstanding. Baraka said they did not think Nevaeh had been abducted at the time of disappearance, which is why there was no Amber Alert.
No one was arrested in relation to the incident.
Melanie Sun for NTD Television
