A 15-year-old girl who was missing for four days after talking with a ‘much older predator’ on Snapchat has been found safe in Louisiana.
Heaven Ray Cox was rescued unharmed by investigators at a Louisiana residence on Thursday, five days after going missing from her home in from Mauriceville, Texas on Saturday.
‘She had been found and is safe!!!’ Heaven’s mother Tammy Cox wrote in an elated Facebook post. ‘Thanks to everybody for all you have done for one little girl, please don’t forget that there are others out there still missing.’
‘The residence where Heaven was located belonged to a relative of a person that was known by Heaven,’ the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Heaven Ray Cox, 15, was rescued unharmed by investigators at a Louisiana residence on Thursday, five days after going missing from her home in from Mauriceville, Texas
Heaven (seen left in a vacation photo, right with teenage friend) was missing for five days and thought to be heading to California, before she was found safe in a Louisiana home
‘Preliminary reports are that Heaven left her residence last Saturday on her own accord, but we will continue to speak to all persons involved. We have not ruled out pending criminal charges,’ the statement said.
Heaven vanished after talking to a much older man on Snapchat, according to her mother, Tammy. It is unclear whether that man turned out to be involved in the case.
‘She left a goodbye note to me and her Dad, and said that she wouldn’t have a phone, so I’m sure he has taken it from her, as it isn’t here, and I have torn her room apart,’ Tammy wrote in a Facebook post before the girl was found.
Tammy said that she didn’t find out her daughter was missing until Saturday afternoon because it was usual for her to sleep in late on weekends.
Heaven is seen with her mother left and alone right. She was rescued unharmed on Thursday
But when she and the girl’s father took a look in her room, they found that she was missing.
Tammy wrote on Facebook that Heaven had been speaking to an unidentified predator; it’s not clear how she knew about him.
Tammy (pictured) said that Heaven was going through a manic phase recently. That can lead to feelings of euphoria and poor decision-making
‘The man she has been talking to is a predator, who has apparently been manipulating her for some time, and in her current state of mind, she believes that he is her friend,’ the mom wrote on Facebook.
Police were notified of her disappearance on Sunday.
Police initially said that a note indicated Heaven might have been heading to California.
‘I am asking everyone to share this to their wall, and particularly those who live in California and every state between there and Texas,’ Tammy wrote.
‘This man told her that he would be in San Antonio for Thanksgiving and that he would pick her up.’
San Antonio is about 4.5 hours by car from Mauriceville.
Tammy also wrote that Heaven’s passport was missing when she disappeared.
The multi-state search for Heaven was called off after she was rescued unharmed Thursday