Missing 13-year-old girl landed in adult prison after lying about her name and age, prosecutor says

ALIQUIPPA, Pa. (AP) — A 13-year-old Pittsburgh-area girl who went missing early last month spent time with adult inmates in a Pennsylvania jail after lying to authorities about her age and identity following a shoplifting arrest, a prosecutor said.

Someone at the Beaver County Jail eventually recognized the girl as a missing person, leading authorities to separate her from the jail’s adult population, Beaver County Prosecutor Nate Bible said Tuesday. The teen’s parents were then notified and picked her up, and the charges against her were transferred to juvenile court, he said.

Pittsburgh police released information about the missing teenager on August 6, and subsequent reports indicated she had been seen around the city and traveling on public transportation.

The girl was charged with retail theft after she was caught stealing items from a Beaver Falls store on Aug. 17, Bible said. At the time, she gave police a false name and date of birth that led authorities to believe she was 18.

The teen eventually told officers multiple times that she was a minor from the Pittsburgh area, and they told her they would return her to her parents. However, the girl falsely told them she was homeless, Bible said.

Meanwhile, Beaver Falls police contacted child services agencies in Beaver County and Allegheny County — where Pittsburgh is located — to try to find information on her, but because she had given authorities a false name, no records were found, said Bible, who did not note how many days she spent with the jail's adult population.

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