Of all the things, young lady
Puzzling questions remain after missing teen found ice skating at The Galleria
After missing for more than a month, a missing girl was spotted at the Galleriaon Sunday and returned to her family.
The 14-year-old was spotted skating at the mall's ice rink by a Houston shopper,who quickly alerted authorities.
Baytown resident Morgan Hernandez has been returned safely to her family,according to HPD officials.Photo via Click 2 Houston
After missing for nearly a month, Morgan Nicole Hernandez was found ice-skating at The Galleria last weekend, ending a tireless search organized by her family after the area high school student disappeared from Discovery Green on Dec. 31.
Along with her grandmother and two brothers, Hernandez had been watching the New Year's Eve Live music events when the Baytown teen walked away from the family.
According to The Houston Chronicle, grandmother Kelly Doucette tried to reach the 14-year-old via cellphone, but received no answer. Doucette drove around the area that evening and saw her granddaughter at 1 a.m. with an unidentified man in a parking lot near the park.
A Galleria shopper who'd seen flyers of the missing girl online spotted Hernandez skating at the mall's ice rink and quickly contacted authorities
The Hernandez family feared foul play and launched a massive search campaign, which turned up little information.
That is, until Sunday, when a Galleria shopper who'd seen flyers of the missing girl online spotted Hernandez skating at the mall's ice rink and quickly contacted authorities. Reporters from KHOU-11 said the teen told police an elaborate-yet-unbelievable story about where she'd been for four weeks.
Houston Police spokesperson John Cannon told CultureMap that the girl has been returned safely to her family. HPD could reveal no further information due to her status as a minor, but did confirm that Herdandez said she left her family willingly.
"Though I haven't heard the details about this specific case, younger runaway situations often have to do with the dynamics at home," said Ronda G. Robinson, executive director and CEO of Covenant House Texas in Montrose, looking for reasons why the girl decided to disappear in December.
"Also, these days we see many more problems with social media," she said. "People online can sound so grandiose and kids don't realize what they're getting into."
Officials from the Galleria declined to comment on the Herdandez situation or on the frequency of finding runaways within its three-million square feet of upscale shopping.
It remains unclear how and where the young girl, who left her purse and money in her grandmother's car the night of the disappearance, spent the past month. But, chances are, she might be able to land a mean triple axel.
