A 13-year-old girl who vanished 32 years ago from a small town near Phoenix, Arizona has been found alive, authorities say.
Christina Marie Plante disappeared on May 15, 1994 from the mountainous community of Star Valley, about 95 miles northeast of Phoenix, sparking an extensive search that failed to find her at the time.
Plante, who is now 44, was reported to have been last seen walking to a stable where she kept her horse, before mysteriously vanishing ‘without a trace’, police said.
The Gila County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that Plante had been found alive, but did not offer details over how she was discovered ‘out of respect for her privacy’.
At the time of her disappearance, authorities described her as having vanished ‘under suspicious circumstances’. Investigators have not yet revealed the cause of her disappearance.
A newspaper article published by The Morning Call on October 23, 1994 described Plante’s case as an abduction by a stranger. The sheriff’s office has not made any arrests.
Officials said the case went cold but was never officially closed, and was reviewed periodically by a cold case unit.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office said: ‘Utilizing advances in technology, modern investigative techniques, and detailed case review, detectives developed new leads that ultimately led to a breakthrough.’
At the time of Plante’s disappearance, authorities said she ‘vanished without a trace’, and a vast search across the mountainous area of Star Valley showed no signs of her.
Authorities said they conducted interviews with numerous people and exhausted investigative efforts, but never established a lead in the case.
Plante was entered into the national missing children database, but remained there for decades as her case went cold.
In a 1995 article published by the Morning Sentinel on missing children, Plante was described as having a scar on her chest from heart surgery.
The article appealed for anyone with information about Plante’s disappearance to come forward, saying she is ‘considered to be at risk.’
The Gila County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation heated up when they established a dedicated cold case unit, which re-examined her case.
The sheriff’s office said advances in technology and investigative techniques ultimately helped find her.
‘Investigators have confirmed her identity, and her status as a missing person has been officially resolved,’ the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities said they will not provide any further information about her case at this time ‘out of respect for Christina’s privacy and well-being.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Gila County Sheriff Adam Shephard for more information.
