On Wednesday, March 8, 14-year-old Indiana teen Emily Barger was found by State authorities after she was reported missing three days before.
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According to WLKY, Barger was first reported missing on Monday, March 6. She was reportedly last seen on the same day in Georgetown, Indiana, at approximately 1 am.
While authorities did not disclose the exact nature of her disappearance at the time, they did say that Barger was believed to be in “danger.” An 18-year-old, Terry Ross Jr., was identified as a person of interest in the case.
Authorities had issued a Silver Alert for Emily. A Silver Alert is a kind of public notification system used to broadcast that an individual is missing. While Silver Alert was initially only issued if the missing individual was suffering some sort of cognitive disability, last year its criteria were expanded to include anyone who was considered to be in danger.
While the Silver Alert has since been canceled, authorities have not officially disclosed the details of Terry Ross Jr.’s alleged involvement in Emily’s disappearance.
In an interview with WDRB, Emily Barger’s father, Shawn Barger, said that he first realized she was missing on Monday morning when he went to wake her up for school. Shawn Barger said:
“First time that’s ever happened and the window was cracked, and I was scared to death.”
The concerned father added that while he believed Emily Barger may have run away on her own, he suspected that she might have potentially been coerced into not returning by another party. He said:
“Yes, she might have gone out on her own but I think
she’s kind of being held now not on her own…. She’s definitely a good girl, and she needs to come back home.”
In a separate Facebook post, her father wrote:
We love her and we want you to come home. Everybody’s looking for you, ok? We’re not mad at you, you’re not in trouble.”
During the course of the search, Floyd County Sheriff Steve Bush named Terry Ross Jr. in connection to the case. He said:
“We believe he was last seen with her and we’d like to speak with him just to see what was going on and try to help us find Emily.”
In an official statement after the alert was canceled, the Floyd County Sheriff thanked the local community for assisting in the search. They also stated that they would be working on filing charges in the case. The statement read:
“We appreciate the assistance of several local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. In addition, we appreciate the assistance of local media outlets, but most importantly our community that never fails to assist when called upon.”
Authorities have not confirmed any arrests. However, Emily Barger’s father claimed in a Facebook Post that a SWAT team had detained an unidentified suspect in the case.
Check out our previous post here.