COPS were “dumbfounded” when they discovered the truth about a teen who went missing more than 30 years ago.
Christina Marie Plante, now 44, vanished without a trace at just 13-years-old as police feared she could have been kidnapped or killed.
But in a huge breakthrough for the decades-old cold case, Christina was located alive this week.
Investigators were able to contact her after 32 years of searching – and they were shocked to learn the truth behind her disappearance.
Captain Jamie Garrett told NewsNation she was “dumbfounded” when she found out that the teen had not been kidnapped, but had run away from home.
Garrett was the investigator who contacted Christina to confirm her identity.
She said: “I guess she wasn’t happy with where she was living and who she was living with and she ran away.
“I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. Okay, so you ran away.’
“I told her, ‘You know, we were under the impression that somebody kidnapped you. It was deemed a criminal offense.’”
Christina was last seen at the age of 13 leaving her home in Star Valley, Arizona on May 15, 1994.
She set off on foot to the stable where her horse was kept but “vanished without a trace” and “was not seen again”.
Her disappearance was classed as occurring under “endangered and suspicious circumstances”, sparking a frantic search effort.
Missing person flyers posted about town said she was last spotted wearing a white T-shirt, multicoloured shorts and black tennis shoes.
But Christina had fled her home and started a new life, with the help of other family members, she told Garrett.
She has been living a secret life with a new name ever since and hardly ever thinks of her old life.
Garrett said Christina told her: “She said that was a long time ago, that was an old life.
“She’s in her adult life. She has her family now. That’s not something she even thinks about.”
Christina didn’t give any other details about her new life.
Cops said they would not release more information about the case “out of respect for Christina’s privacy and well-being”.
Her case had never formally closed, with investigators re-examining evidence and pursuing new leads periodically.
It was later assigned to the Gila County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit.
The sheriff’s office said the creation of its Cold Case Unit “marked a renewed commitment to unresolved investigations”.
Officers were able to take advantage of modern technology and investigative techniques.
After a detailed case review, the unit made a “breakthrough” which led them to finding Christina and contacting her to confirm her identity.
