ALIQUIPPA, Pennsylvania — A 13-year-old Pittsburgh-area girl who was reported missing early last month spent time with adult inmates in a Pennsylvania prison after lying to authorities about her age and identity following her arrest for shoplifting, a prosecutor said.
Someone at the Beaver County Jail eventually recognized the girl as missing, leading officials to separate her from the adult jail population, Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible said Tuesday. The teen’s parents were then notified and picked her up, and the charges against her were transferred to juvenile court, he said.
Pittsburgh police released information about the missing teen on August 6. Later reports said she had been seen in the city and was seen taking public transportation.
The girl was charged with shoplifting after she was caught stealing items from a Beaver Falls store on Aug. 17, Bible said. She gave police a false name and date of birth, leading authorities to believe she was 18.
The teen eventually told officers multiple times that she was a minor from the Pittsburgh area, and they told her they would turn her over to her parents. However, the girl falsely told them she was homeless, Bible said.
At the time, Beaver Falls police contacted child protective services agencies in Beaver County and Allegheny County (where Pittsburgh is located) to try to find information about her, but because she had given authorities a false name, no records were found, according to Bible, who did not keep track of how many days she spent with the adult jail population.
