32 years after she went missing, Christina Marie Plante has been found. In 1994, the then 13-year-old disappeared in Arizona. On Wednesday, April 1, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office said she was found alive.
“Utilizing advances in technology, modern investigative techniques, and detailed case review, detectives developed new leads that ultimately led to a breakthrough,” the sheriff’s office said. HELLO! reached out to the Gila County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
For years, the case went cold, but it was never closed by the Gila County Sheriff’s Office. Periodically, they reviewed the details and after the cold case unit was formed, they took over.
To respect Christina’s privacy, the sheriff’s office said additional details about the case were not being released. Here’s everything we know about the curious case.
How did Christina Marie Plante go missing?
Christina was last seen on May 15, 1994 in the rural community of Star Valley, Arizona. At 13, she left her home to walk to a stable where her horse was and reportedly vanished without a trace from her community. Christina was last seen in the town of just over 2,000 people wearing a white T-shirt, shorts and black tennis shoes.
© Getty ImagesAfter she went missing, the sheriff’s office conducted “extensive search efforts…involving local law enforcement, volunteers, and regional resources.” Eventually, Christina was listed in national missing children databases. And now, 32 years later, she has finally been found.
How was Christina Marie Plante found?
On Thursday, April 2, Captain Jamie Garrett of the Gila County Sheriff’s Office spoke with NewsNation’s Jesse Weber Live about the case. She explained: “I guess [Christina] wasn’t happy with where she was living and who she was living with, and she ran away.”
Captain Garrett continued: “I was dumbfounded. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. Okay, so you ran away.’ I told her … ‘You know, we were under the impression that somebody kidnapped you. It was deemed a criminal offense.'”
The cold case investigator had pinpointed an adult that she suspected might be Christina and reached out to her by phone. 32 years after she went missing, Christina is now living under a different name.
© Getty Images“She said that was a long time ago, that was an old life,” Captain Garrett said. “She’s in her adult life. She has her family now. That’s not something she even thinks about.”
The success in finding Christina “underscores the importance of cold case review initiatives.” The Gila County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit noted the impact of evolving technology in bringing long-awaited answers to families and communities and extended “its gratitude to the investigators, analysts, partner agencies, and community members who contributed to keeping this case active over the decades.”
How many children go missing in the U.S. every year
While Christina was found, missing children is a prevalent issue in the United States. According to the Child Crime Prevention and Safety Center: “840,000 children are reported missing each year.”
The organization noted that family kidnappings make up half of all reported abductions in the United States, with stranger abduction the rarest. Like Christina, who Captain Garrett believes ran away, one in seven children between the ages 10 and 18 will run away from home. 75% of runaways are female.
© Getty ImagesTo aid in the search for missing children, the AMBER alert system was created in 1994 after Amber Hagerman was kidnapped and murdered in Arlington, Texas. When a child goes missing, an AMBER alert is sent via phones, TV/radio, social media, and more with descriptions of the child and the suspect.
Over 800 children have been rescued because of AMBER alerts.
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