In a Facebook statement, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office announced Plante’s case was officially closed after the missing teen, now an adult, was located.
Captain Jamie Garrett contacted the woman to confirm her identity, later learning Plante left on purpose and with the assistance of others.
“I was dumbfounded,” the cold case investigator shared on Jesse Weber Live on April 2. “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.'”
He assumed, “I guess she wasn’t happy with where she was living and who she was living with, and she ran away.”
Plante reportedly said what happened was “a long time ago” and “an old life.”
“She’s in her adult life. She has her family now. That’s not something she even thinks about,” Garrett continued.
Technological advances and new investigative techniques reportedly helped authorities locate Plante.
Chief Deputy James Lahti expressed a similar sentiment in an interview with NBC News, saying they did not know where Plante was and that they were “under the impression she had been kidnapped.”
“We’re still in the process of looking into what happened, and as new information develops, we will be providing updates,” Lahti remarked.
Meanwhile, Hudgens said Plante’s father had custody of her. However, she wanted to live with her mother.
“It was a custody battle,” he added.