A foster parent contacted Portsmouth Police at 5:41 in the morning to report two girls in their care had run away.
As soon as Children’s Services was contacted, the search got underway.
Multiple locations were visited by officers. Despite knocking on four different doors, they were not able to locate the girls.
Around 7:15, authorities had no leads left and had to compile all the information into a report.
A lucky break came several hours later. At approximately 1:30 pm, the Portsmouth Police Department was contacted by an employee of a well-known restaurant. The employee explained that they had been engaged in a text message conversation regarding the girls.
The worker did not know of the previous search and told police that they were runaways planning on meeting another female who planned to take them out of town.
Two possible addresses were given to the police where they might be able to find the girls before they were taken away. Police found the girls about an hour later in the alley near one of the locations given.
Their medical condition was checked out and they were interviewed. This morning, SCDN contacted the police department and confirmed that the girls were safely returned to their foster homes.
The Department of Job and Family Services specifies that when a child runs away from a foster home, the foster parent must contact the police. Foster parents should not attempt to find a runaway child themselves. A collaborative effort between police, CPS, and the public helped locate the children in this case, and everyone is safe.
There are no details on whether the person intending to take the girls out of town will face legal action.
