CHICAGO — Chicago police are questioning a man who was taken into custody after a missing girl was found in his apartment.
Police say this is a case of tremendous sensitivity, given the young girl's age, so they are proceeding with their investigation very cautiously.
The 11-year-old was treated and released from Comer Children's Hospital. She is now home with her family, who are overjoyed because they feared the worst.
"Thanks to the whole public for all the help and support you did," her father said this morning. "Thank you and God bless and happy holidays -- my daughter is safe."
The girl's father and mother are rejoicing. After three agonizing days, she was found alive this morning in a Woodlawn apartment. Chicago police took a man -- said to be in his late 50s -- into custody. There is no word of any charges yet.
Exactly how the young girl ended up in the apartment is an unanswered question. But a community activist who helped find the girl says the trouble started on the CTA Green Line Saturday, after she fell asleep and found herself at the end of the line at 63rd & Cottage Grove.
"When she woke up on the 'el' at 63rd and Cottage, that's when he asked her, did she need bus fare, she said," community activist Andrew Holmes told WGN. "And then from there, she said, he said he was going to the gas station and get some bus fare, but they wound up in this apartment."
Holmes says he traced a phone number to the Woodlawn apartment. The family had called him and asked him to help track down the girl. He was able to lead police to the girl in the Woodlawn neighborhood. She was immediately taken to the hospital.
http://archive.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/12/missing-girl-found-on-south-side-police-questioning-man.html
Fri Dec 17, 2010 9:48 am