Teen vanished from home without a trace—5 years later, her mom received a letter from her that changed everything
No mother wants to experience the nightmare of her child going missing. If the unfortunate event takes place, all her heart longs for is for her child to reunite safely. Back in 2013, a 14-year-old girl named Emily Paul went missing from her family home, per reports from 13 ABC. Her worried parents hoped for five long years that she would someday return safe and sound. To their surprise, they received a letter and it changed the trajectory of the case. The teenager was reported missing and the case went on for five years. There was no lead and no one knew what could have happened. Being one of the youngest in her entire extended family, everyone was worried sick about her whereabouts.
As any other parent, her mom and dad, too, hoped that she would one day return. When five long years passed, with hopes getting bleak, a letter arrived at the parents’ home. Written by Paul to her parents, it revealed unexpected contents. It was not clearly mentioned what exactly was written in the letter. However, the teenager wrote about her home life, her idea to leave and so on. The family and authorities were now confused by the unusual response. Melissa Parker, one of Paul’s cousins, noted that the girl had a great life and was happy. It is unbeknownst to all why she would have suddenly left.
“It was just a shock, we’ve spent five years wondering what happened, where’d she go,” she remarked. The authorities suspected that the girl might be in danger and made one last effort to reach out to her. Captain Jason Daffin of the Bay County Sheriff’s Department recorded a message for the teenager. "Emily, if you're watching this, our investigation is for no other reason but to make sure that you're safe, that you're where you want to be and it's under your own free will,” the officer said, according to ABC News. "I'm not at liberty to disclose to anybody where you're at. That's nobody else's business; that's your privacy. You're an adult. Emily, if you can just pick up the phone, there are a lot of people in this community that care about you and love you and they just want that peace of mind,” he added.
The officer asked her to get to the local police station so she could make the call. A few weeks went by and the phone rang. Paul assured the authorities that she was safe and left of her own free will. The local officers also ran their checks to ensure the girl was doing fine and came to a positive conclusion. While the outcome has been beyond confusing, it is relieving. “I am over the moon to know she’s alive,” Parker said, adding that she’d been hoping and praying that her cousin was alive and safe for the last five years. She left a message on behalf of the family, “I love you, we all love you so much and no matter how much time goes by, no matter what happens, what has happened, we will always be here for you.”
