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Missing 13-year-old Waterford Township girl found, MSP says

Johanna Woody
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WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A missing 13-year-old girl from Waterford Township who police said may have run away with a man from Jackson has been found.

Waterford police say Johanna “Jax” Woody left her home early Sunday morning after her father went to work. She was last seen Saturday around 6 p.m. and was reported missing Sunday around 10 a.m. As of 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Michigan State Police said she has been found.

Police said there were signs Johanna preplanned the incident. Family and friends were interviewed by detectives, and there’s a report that she met a 21-year-old Jackson man online and planned to run away with him.

Johanna does not have her own cellphone, but investigators believed she was in possession of one that did not have cell service. Police believed she was using Wi-Fi to communicate through Snapchat.

Police were analyzing data from Snapchat to find leads.

“Johanna struggles with mental illness and is described as high-functioning autistic,” police said in a statement.

Police were working to obtain neighborhood video through the RING app before she was found.

Michigan State Police and the FBI worked with the Waterford Police Department.