DOJ: Missing Michigan girl found in Indiana

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WISH) — A 30-year-old man was apprehended nearly a month ago after he was found at a Hammond, Indiana, apartment with a 16-year-old girl missing from Michigan, the U.S. Department of Justice reported this week .

The names of the man and girl were not publicly shared.

The effort came as part of the U.S. Marshals Service’s Operation We Will Find You 2 from May 20 to June 24. The effort found 200 children described as critically missing, endangered runaways and abducted youths in the United States. The case in Indiana was listed as one of the “significant recoveries.”

The girl had been reported missing Jan. 11 from her home with a legal guardian in Edwardsburg, Michigan. That’s a village located near South Bend, Indiana. It’s about a 90-minute drive from Hammond.

“During the investigation, operation personnel learned information that the child had either attempted to get away from the adult male multiple times or the child wanted to do so. The child was in a difficult and dangerous situation, especially since she had traveled across state lines and was now in a new state, a long distance from where she was first reported missing,” according to information from the department’s Western District of Michigan.

Authorities said the man had also posted photos of cash and firearms on his social media profile, including a photo in which he pointed a handgun with an extended magazine at the girl.

The department says the girl was found safe on June 13, and released to child protective services.

The man was arrested, but the Department of Justice in the Monday news release did not share what charges if any he faces.

Hammond is a city of 76,575 in northwest Indiana that sits on the border with Illinois and along Lake Michigan.