A missing Siler City teen was safely located Thursday after going missing a week earlier.
Police didn't say where she was found, but did say the 15-year-old was safely recovered, and canceled the Amber Alert for her.
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Authorities issued an Amber Alert for the girl on Thursday. WRAL News asked Siler City Police Chief Brian Regan why authorities didn't issue an Amber Alert sooner.
Regan said when the girl's family first called the morning of Feb. 21, it didn't meet all of the criteria for an Amber Alert.
Since the Feb. 21 call, new information in the investigation does meet the criteria for issuing the Amber Alert. Regan said he could not comment on the new info.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI were also working on the case out of the Siler City Police Department, given the possibility that the investigation could cross state lines.
Philip VanWyngarden, an FBI assistant special agent in charge, said Thursday that the Amber Alert issued for the girl was not related to the Amber Alert cancellation on behalf of a 15-year-old Harnett County girl found safe in Kitty Hawk.
According to Morrissa Moyer with the Center for Missing Persons, 15-year-old girls are especially vulnerable in cases like this.
Moyer spoke with WRAL News on Wednesday about the Amber Alert issued for another 15-year-old out of Harnett County. On Thursday, more than 48 hours after the girl went missing, she was found in Dare County by state and federal agents, along with local law enforcement, according to the Harnett County Sheriff's Office.
"Fifteen-year-old females, specifically 15-year-old females who are minorities, go missing the most," Moyer said. "We don't have a real reason why that happens, but this is very much on par statistically with what happens on a state level and a national level."