Missing Texas 13-year-old Leanna Willis found in Missouri, 'she was ready to go home'
Press conference: Officials share details on former missing Texas teen Leanna Willis
Jeff Evans, captain for Hitchcock Police Department, and Tim Miller, Director of Texas Equusearch, share more information on the case of former missing teen, Leanna Willis, who was reported missing out of Galveston, Texas, and was found in Kansas City, Missouri days later.
HOUSTON - For nearly a week a Galveston family searched for their 13-year-old daughter who was last seen sometime on June 9 and on Friday they were finally reunited.
Leanna Willis was reported missing to Hitchcock Police on June 13 after her family said they hadn’t seen her since that Friday.
According to Jeff Evans, captain of Hitchcock Police Department, they were able to locate her on Friday in an apartment in Platte County in Kansas City, Missouri with a non-family member adult male.
"So the information that we received early on is that she had been in communication with older men online, on various different platforms. That’s what gave us a basis to believe she may have been taken by an adult male," Evans said.
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The investigation led them to believe she was in Missouri and Hitchcock then combined efforts with Houston FBI, Kansas City FBI, and Kansas City police.
Tim Miller, the Director for Texas Equusearch, was initially unsure if they would find her.
Miller says he told a detective on the day she was found, hours before they got the information she was located, "It’s gonna be a miracle if we get her back alive."
"Yesterday, I wasn’t comfortable we were gonna find her", he recalled. "It was a relief. They all don’t have this happy ending."
The first 48 hours are important, Evans says. The ability to generate the leads and locate her a significant time after was fortunate.
Willis was last seen on Friday, June 9 around 4 p.m. Her family was aware she generally goes with family or friends, so when she didn’t return on Monday, June 11, they grew concerned, Evans said.
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When she hadn’t returned Tuesday, they reached out to the local police department and Wednesday morning an Amber Alert was issued.
Early Thursday morning, a statewide Amber Alert was issued and by late Thursday afternoon, the 13-year-old was located.
"When I first saw her she seemed relieved," Cpt. Evans shared. "When she found out we were from Hitchcock and that we were bringing her home, she said she was ready to go home, that she missed her family."
Leanna Willis, 13, found in Missouri after being reported missing in Texas
13-year-old Leanna Willis from Hitchcock was found in Kansas City, Missouri after being reported missing. Hitchcoc4k Police worked in conjunction with the FBI to find Leanna with a man who was not a relative at an apartment in Kansas City.
Miller also adds, "Some tears coming out of her eyes. I think she felt a huge relief. I think she felt safe, now, she finally felt safe."
Kansas City FBI and police are handling the investigation and charges for the man Willis was found with. The investigation is ongoing, so no other details have been shared.
It is still unclear if the man she was found with will face charges in Galveston County, authorities say.
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According to Evans, Kansas City will share any information they receive when they are able to.
There was no information on what online site or app Willis was on and officials say they are waiting to get forensic evidence from the devices retrieved from Kansas City.
Until then, Miller says they are working to get Willis counseling to work through this and educate her more on the possibilities of what could happen in these situations.
"They all don’t end like this," he added.