What began as a frantic Christmas Eve search for a missing teen turned into a two-day ordeal that kept deputies busy and highlighted the challenges of dealing with runaway juveniles already in the court system.
A West Portsmouth man called 911 on Christmas Eve, reporting his teenage daughter had run away about 45 minutes earlier. He told deputies the girl was on probation and said he had just brought her home after finding her with several boys who were drinking.
According to the caller, the girl fled shortly after returning home. He said he had been driving around for roughly 30 minutes, checking addresses and asking the boys where she might be, but couldn’t find her.
Deputies immediately began searching the area, checking multiple locations. The search eventually led officers to SS Davis Park, where they found the girl—along with a teenage boy hiding inside a shed at the park.
Officers returned both teens to their respective homes, believing the situation had been resolved.
It wasn’t.
Christmas Day: Trouble Starts Again
On Christmas Day, deputies were called back to the girl’s home after reports she had become unruly, kicked an adult, and then ran away on foot once again.
A short time later, a man living on a nearby street called 911 to report a teenager standing on his front porch.
When officers arrived, they located the girl and called for an ambulance after she complained of a leg injury. She was treated and then taken into custody.
Because Scioto County does not have a juvenile detention facility, the teen was fingerprinted and transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Chillicothe.
