A teenage girl who had been missing for nearly two months after vanishing from her family’s Michigan home in May was found on Sunday, July 21, living with and engaged to a 44-year-old man she had recently met, officials reported.
Penelope “Penny” Wise, 17, was reported missing by her family after she ran away from her Cedar Springs home at around 6 p.m. on May 31. She was last captured on security footage walking alone near a bar in Rockford around midnight on June 1.
According to the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, Wise met the older man that night and moved in with him. This information was revealed in an update to her missing person’s case on Monday, July 22.
Though it was initially believed that Wise had voluntarily left her home, there were no sightings of her in the nearly two months following her last known location near the bar. Despite extensive searches by the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Michigan State Police, and the Rockland Department of Safety, no leads emerged until Sunday morning.
A community member recognized Wise from missing persons flyers and contacted the police around 11 a.m. on July 21 after seeing her riding a bike. Investigators learned that Wise had been living with the unnamed man since the night she left home and that they had become engaged during her disappearance.
Wise was found to be “safe,” and sheriff’s detectives are continuing their investigation. The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office has not yet authorized any charges against Wise’s fiancé, according to M Live.
