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Eman Mohammed Alsayegh, 15, was taken by the Red Willow County Sheriff's Office to a secure juvenile holding facility where she was waiting to be reunited with her mother and siblings.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, the Osceola County Florida Sheriff's Office called the North Platte agency for assistance as it was thought the girl might be in the North Platte area.
Investigation by the LCSO, in cooperation with the Kuwait Embassy in Washington found leads in Omaha and McCook.
Through the cooperation of the North Platte office of the FBI, Omaha Police Department and McCook Police Department, it was found that Eman was living with a 16-year-old McCook boy and his mother. The names of the boy and his mother were not released.
FBI agents and the McCook Police Department interviewed McCook residents and found no evidence of foul play.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, girl met the young man in an Internet chat room, which progressed to personal e-mails and eventually telephone calls. She rode a bus from Florida to Omaha, and had made arrangements with the boy to pick her up in Omaha. Eman had been staying with the McCook family for about a week; a family relative saw a missing person flyer with Eman's photo and notified the family, who then called the McCook Police Department.
"We are all lucky that Eman was not enticed to Nebraska by a child predator," Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer said. "This incident appears to be relatively innocent and the young girl will be returned to her family as quickly as possible," he said.
"Young adults and parents must exercise extreme caution when communicating on the Internet and should refrain from talking to strangers. You never know where the World Wide Web will take you or who it will hook you up with."
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"...appears relatively innocent..." WHAT??????? How can the mother of the 16yo boy allow this in the first place? What was she thinking? This just goes to show you that parents need to learn how to be a parent...less of a "cool friend". Be in control. Be the adult. Set examples. Know exactly what their children are doing. I'm not talking about micromanaging, but just THINK and WATCH. This is how bad things happen and then the parents wonder what happened. He was such a good boy (or girl).... GIVE ME A BREAK!
Yes, Rural Citizen, the boy's mom should be held accountable in some way or another.
While it's nearly impossible to monitor all the communication that a 16-year old may have (between e-mails, texts, calls, etc) if strong boundaries are established early in life, kids will know right from wrong, and things like this are much less likely to happen.
From a different angle, did anyone else notice that this story hit the regional (even Network TV) media more than 24 hours before it was reported locally? No fault of the local paper or radio; they can only report what is shared with them by local authorities. But heaven forbid a local official let the public be informed of things that are happening right under our noses.
I don't know under what pretenses the mother took this girl into her home but I doubt it was because she thought she was being a "cool mom" for her son. They called the police when they learned this girl had run away so there's obviously a lot more to this story that we just don't know. So why rush to judgment on this woman?
Understood McCook1, however, it stated that she was living with them for a week until other family members saw the poster. Either way, I don't think I'd allow another teen to live under my roof unless I had spoken to the parents and found out the situation. Not trying to rush judgment, just please use common sense and be more aware. That's all.
Youare all missing the real point here. What will happen to this girl when she returns to her family? Will Sharia law be in effect? Girls in Muslim countries, even in the US, are victims of honor killings for doing things like this.
It's probably safe to say that her punishment for this stunt will be swift & severe...and to take it one step further, the boy here in McCook and his family should be informed of what that punishment is/will be so they can let that sit on their collective conscionces.
"the boy....should be informed of what that punishment is/will be so they can let that sit on their collective conscionces."
Come on, did you not read the line before this? There is a possibility that this girl will be punished severely. Do you really believe a 16 year old boy is capable of understanding the punishment system that is used in that culture and region of the world?
He is 16, 16! He was probably in love, so his judgment was clouded. I have no doubt that she said things they may have not been completely true either. Although this boy may need some better guidance than he was getting, he is not an adult yet. Kids make stupid mistakes, just be happy that all the parties involved are safe at the moment.
Who knows what kind of story this girl told to the boy and his mom. Maybe she said she had been abused. Would you really have called the parents of a girl who claims they were abusing her? I think we should reserve judgement on the boy and his family here.
The Kuwaiti girl will probably be punished according to laws of the state and their customs. I do believe that by the age of 16, "the boy" should have known better, most 16 year olds do. And yes, he should know of her punishment, what better way to teach the concept of consequences.