Missing Michigan Teen Found Two Months Later -- 'Engaged' and Living with 44-Year-Old 'Stranger'

TooFab has decided not to name the teen, who is a minor, to protect her privacy amid an ongoing investigation.

The teen disappeared on May 31, 2024, after she was spotted on surveillance footage leaving her family home and walking down the street on foot around 6pm near Morley Park in Cedar Springs. She was later seen walking around midnight at a downtown bar later that evening.

On Sunday, the Kent County Sheriff's Office confirmed she was "located safe," after she left an "older man's" home on a bicycle and was seen by "an observant community member" who called police.

In an update Monday, the Sheriff's Office reported the teen met the man, who is 44, around 2AM on June 1, hours after she left her home. They added that while he was allegedly a total "stranger" to her, she "lived with the man in his Rockford home starting on June 1, 2024," the same day they met, until she was found.

"Investigators also learned that [the girl] and the man were engaged," added authorities in their Monday press release, saying the case was still under investigation.

Kent County Undersheriff Bryan Muir shed some more light onto the situation while speaking with ABC 13. Per Muir, the teen "was willingly staying with this male" and the pair were "actively trying to evade detection."

"They were trying to conceal her identity, conceal her location and weren't cooperating with law enforcement trying to locate her, to reunite her with her family," he added, saying the two met "through happenstance."

"The male located [her] the night of her disappearance in the early morning hours, offered a place to stay. Ultimately, that sparked a friendship between the two and she had been staying with that individual for the past seven weeks," he continued. "They never had any connection, there was no digital trail that could have led to this location. They happened to meet each other and have a bond."

Of the engagement, he said authorities are "using her words" and she's the one who gave them that information. Muir added, "They thought they were In a strong enough relationship they consider themselves a couple."

The teen was still in custody as of Monday, with Muir telling FOX 17 that "there's a lot that we can't help her with, but we're making sure we're connecting her with the right community resources to find the best resolution for her in the end." She had yet to be reunited with her family,

"It's surreal knowing that she's been found," her father told ABC 13. "We still haven't been able to lay eyes on her, so I think once we're able to actually see her it will sink in even more. We are very relieved that she's been found."

The 44-year-old man hasn't been named publicly and authorities don't believe charges will be brought against him.

"Right now, [at] this point in the investigation, there is no criminal charges," Muir told FOX. "Even for him not working with us and letting [us] know where [she] was located, we don't have any criminal charges."

County Prosecutor Chris Becker confirmed they "looked at a bunch of charges," including contributing to the delinquency of a minor or harboring a runway, but they couldn't be applied since the teen is above the age of 16.

"There's just nothing that covers this," he explained.