A 12-year-old girl from Florida stole her father's car and picked up her friend, 14, to meet a predator they were chatting to online in Louisiana, officials told New York Post.
Jade Gregory of Union County and her friend Khloe Larson were reported missing last week after they drove out of state in a Ford Taurus. The girls had been corresponding with an unknown person online and decided to meet him in Louisiana.
Their sudden disappearance triggered a massive federal search, and pictures of the two girls were flashed across billboards and television screens across Southern states, NY Post reported.
Jade Gregory drove her father's car from the Gainesville area to Mobile, Alabama- 5 hour's drive.
The authorities later informed that they were not accompanied by an adult.
The girls were shocked to see their pictures on television in a convenience store in Alabama and later decided to turn themselves in to local police.
According to the media outlet, the FBI is investigating a person who they believe the teenagers were planning to meet. They are vetting the possibility the children were lured by a sex trafficker.
The children safely reached their homes.
