Two girls who had been missing since Monday were found
”
hanging out
”
at a friend’s house in Gilroy on Wednesday, police said.
Felicia Warren, 14 and Jessica Moore, 13, both students at
Marguerite Maze Middle School, were found by Hollister Police
Detective Tony Lamonica around 8:30 p.m. in a home near Los Animas
Park in Gilroy.
Two girls who had been missing since Monday were found “hanging out” at a friend’s house in Gilroy on Wednesday, police said.
Felicia Warren, 14 and Jessica Moore, 13, both students at Marguerite Maze Middle School, were found by Hollister Police Detective Tony Lamonica around 8:30 p.m. in a home near Los Animas Park in Gilroy.
“Nobody abducted them,” Lamonica said. “The girls were in a (friend’s) garage with five or six other juveniles, just sitting around and talking.”
The teens had been having minor problems at home, “kid’s stuff, like arguing with their parents,” Lamonica said. They traveled to Gilroy on Monday morning after their parents dropped them off at school. With their whereabouts still unknown Tuesday, the parents contacted the police as well as the media.
Friends and family spent all day Wednesday handing out fliers of the girls in Hollister, Gilroy and surrounding areas.
Through leads from the girls’ friends and acquaintances, Lamonica traced the girls to Gilroy, where he made contact with a 21-year-old man, who preferred to remain anonymous, at Los Animas Park.
The man had seen Warren and Moore at an acquaintances’ house near the park and had just called the Gilroy Police Department and informed them that he had seen the girls.
Lamonica then contacted the Gilroy Police Department, who assisted him in finally finding the duo at a friend’s house.
“(We found them) with the help of the media and people putting up fliers,” Lamonica said. “That’s how this kid was able to recognize these girls and knew where they were.”
Even though the girls weren’t actually kidnapped, they had never done anything like this before and the police had to take appropriate action, Lamonica said.
“Someone mentioned to them that they were on the news and people were looking for them, and they didn’t do anything,” he said. “But you never know. We have to do this when suspicious circumstances are involved.”
Earlier reports said the girls may have been in Watsonville, but they most likely never left Gilroy, said Hollister Police Captain Bob Brooks.
“It was something they told their parents, but we don’t think they were ever there,” Brooks said. “You know how kids are.”
The girls’ families were unavailable for comment.
