Kidnapped child found alive after years hidden under fake name: police

A young miss who was kidnapped successful Southern California astir six years agone was recovered harmless and surviving nether a fake sanction connected the different broadside of the country, authorities said.

The now-11-year-old unfortunate was recovered successful Washington County, North Carolina connected Tuesday, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The miss was located aft authorities received a extremity revealing she had been enrolled successful the Washington County School District "under an alias name," officials said. 

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The unfortunate was conscionable 5 years aged erstwhile she was past seen astatine her location successful Duarte, California connected June 2, 2020, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. (NCMEC)

Investigators worked successful tandem with aggregate agencies from North Carolina to California to safely find the miss and instrumentality her into protective custody.

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The miss was conscionable 5 years aged erstwhile she was past seen successful Duarte, California connected June 2, 2020, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). 

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The unfortunate was recovered surviving successful North Carolina nether a fake sanction conscionable 3 months aft the NCMEC issued an updated property progression photograph of the missing child. (NCMEC)

She was reported missing to California authorities. At the clip of her disappearance, she was the taxable of a abstracted probe involving the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) said successful a statement.

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The victim’s parent had custody and stopped communicating with DCFS workers, starring authorities to judge she was liable for the child’s disappearance, according to LASD. 

"These are precise uncommon occurrences to person specified a affirmative result connected specified an aged lawsuit arsenic this, but it reminds america that done hard work, and dedication and cooperation, stories with affirmative outcomes similar these tin happen," the Washington County Sheriff's Office said.

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The improvement comes conscionable 3 months aft the NCMEC issued an updated property progression photograph of the missing child. 

The unfortunate was recovered aft authorities received a extremity that she was enrolled arsenic a pupil successful the Washington County School District successful North Carolina connected March 6, 2026, officials said. (Google Maps)

"After six years, the betterment of [the victim] is an unthinkable infinitesimal for everyone who has worked to bring her home," John Bischoff, who oversees NCMEC's Missing Children Division, said. "Her betterment reflects the persistence and adjacent coordination betwixt instrumentality enforcement and NCMEC and our shared committedness to ne'er springiness up connected a missing child."

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Authorities person not made immoderate arrests successful the girl’s disappearance, according to officials. 

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The Washington County Sheriff’s Office and LASD did not instantly respond to Fox News Digital’s petition for comment.