METAMORA, Ind. -- Volunteers in the search for Emily Pennington, a 14-year-old with autism who had gone missing Thursday afternoon, stayed out late Friday night - - hours past the point at which the sun set and police packed in their flashlights.
It was those persistent volunteers who found her along the nearby riverbank around 1 a.m. Saturday. According to Franklin County Deputy Jason Lovins, who had led the initial search by authorities, Pennington was less than two miles from her home.
First responders transported her to Children’s Hospital as a precaution, but Lovins said she was safe and healthy.
Pennington had run away more than once before her Thursday disappearance, when she vanished after a school bus dropped her off at home, but her family said the 24-hour stretch between Thursday and Friday was the longest she had ever been missing.
