E’minie Hughes, the 12-year-old girl reported missing from the Houston area, has been located unharmed, according to a statement released by the police.
Houston authorities issued an Amber Alert on Wednesday after E’minie was last seen on February 22. There were concerns she may have been trafficked.
In an update, police announced that she was found safe in Columbus, Texas, approximately 73 miles away from where she disappeared.
FBI Houston also confirmed their involvement in the case, expressing satisfaction in assisting with E’minie’s recovery. They shared the news on X, stating, “FBI Houston is proud to have helped rescue yet another missing child. Two kids recovered in two days,” but declined to provide further details to CNN.
The investigation remains ongoing, with no additional information released by authorities.
Initially, when E’minie first went missing, it was believed she had left voluntarily, as per a Houston police spokesperson. However, new information surfaced, leading investigators to suspect she may have been trafficked. The specific details that prompted this concern have not been disclosed.
E’minie was last seen entering a dark-colored four-door Dodge pickup around 1:40 a.m. local time, according to the initial Amber Alert. The disappearance occurred in Missouri City, a suburb within the Houston metropolitan area.
Furthermore, Houston police mentioned the possibility that E’minie had been using a social media app called Tagged. This platform focuses on facilitating connections for friendship or dating through features such as Browse, Meet Me, and Live, according to its website.
Tagged’s parent company, The Meet Group, informed CNN that they have reached out to Houston law enforcement to extend their assistance with the case.
“Our terms and conditions strictly prohibit minors from utilizing our apps, and we employ a combination of technology and manual analysis to detect any minors who may have falsified their age during registration,” the company stated. “In the event of any attempts to bypass our verification process, we conduct thorough investigations into reports involving potential minor users or instances of child exploitation.”
Authorities have not disclosed the extent to which the child’s possible presence on Tagged influenced their investigation.
The mother of the missing girl, Shannon Williams, recounted to CNN affiliate KPRC that she last saw her daughter before bedtime on Thursday. However, E’minie was nowhere to be found when Williams woke up the next morning.
According to Williams, E’minie is believed to have left with only an Android tablet and the clothes she was wearing. The mother expressed uncertainty about whether E’minie had been communicating with someone online. She mentioned that E’minie had gone out for a walk just a few hours prior to her disappearance.
In their final conversation, E’minie requested her mother to wake her up early for school the following day, as reported by CNN affiliate KHOU.
Statistics from a 2023 news release by the Department of Justice reveal that approximately 460,000 children go missing in the US each year. According to the nonprofit National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, around 1 in 6 of the over 28,800 reported cases of missing children in 2023 were likely victims of child trafficking. Last year, the center received more than 18,400 reports of possible child trafficking.
Holly Priebe Sotelo, a professor of social work at The University of Southern California, emphasized the importance of parents maintaining open communication with their children regarding the establishment of healthy relationships and boundaries, particularly with individuals they encounter online.
“Given the ever-evolving landscape of potential threats, parents should engage in ongoing conversations with their children about establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries,” Sotelo remarked.