Emily Wynell Paul disappeared more than five years ago in April 2013. She was just 14-years-old when she packed a suitcase and left her home in Southport, Florida.
She left a note alerting her parents to the fact that she was running away.
Investigators were unsuccessful in tracking the teen down. The Panama City News Herald reports that investigators believe that Emily researched how to successfully run away and learned from websites that teach teens how to do this.
When she left, she took her Xbox and other items shes used for online communication.
She never logged back into her Facebook account and her cellphone was only powered on three times in the week after she left.
It was tracked to a location not far from where she lived. Police reports don’t mention any reason why the teen may have run away.
According to the National Runaway Safeline, many teens leave their home because of abuse or conflict.
- 80% of runaway and homeless girls reported having been sexually or physically abused
- Over 50% of youth in shelters or on the streets reported that their parents told them to leave or knew they were leaving but did not care
- 47% of runaway youth report conflict between them and a parent/guardian in the home
- 43% of runaway youth (girls and boys) reported physical abuse before leaving home
- 34% of runaway youth (girls and boys) reported sexual abuse before leaving home
But again, the reasons why Emily left have not been reported.
After five years of wondering what happened to her daughter, Pam Massimiani received a letter from the missing teen who is now 19-years-old.
Massimiani posted on Facebook telling the people knows that she heard from her daughter. She didn’t say what the letter said and is keeping those details private.
“The ball is in her court still,” Massimiani said. “There’s a lot of mixed emotions and a lot of feelings.”
Massimiani eventually contacted police about the letters they found.
Captain Jason Daffin of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office posted a Facebook video asking Emily to contact police so they confirm that she was safe and close out the case.
Emily later contacted the police by phone who told her to report to a local police department so they could confirm that she didn’t make the call under duress.
When she reported to the police station investigators took photos of her and interviewed her.
Police confirm that she was in good health, safe, happy, and had a support system. She did say that doesn’t want her family to know where she is. Her case is now officially closed.
You can learn more about the case in the video below.
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