A teenager and his grandmother in Florida have been arrested for allegedly harboring a 16-year-old girl who had been missing for a month. Aliyah Duncan was reported missing on September 5 in Lake County, which prompted a statewide search.
On October 9, Duncan was discovered at a residence in Lake County where she was staying with her boyfriend, Damion Anderson, and his grandmother, Debbie Myers.
The duo is facing charges of interference with child custody, providing false information to law enforcement, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
While Debbie Myers, who is 63 years old, was released on the same day after posting a $4,000 bond, it is not clear whether Anderson, also a juvenile, was held in jail. The Sheriff’s Office has not disclosed the reasons for Duncan’s presence at Anderson’s residence.
During the initial stages of the investigation, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office indicated that the missing juvenile had left voluntarily.
Over the course of three weeks, law enforcement officers met with Anderson and Myers nearly a dozen times, but both provided limited information, consistently denying any knowledge of the juvenile’s whereabouts.
They were cautioned about the potential criminal charges they could face for withholding information from law enforcement.
Myers expressed her belief that the extensive search for the missing juvenile was becoming “ridiculous” and that those assisting the juvenile should be charged. Officials confirmed that Duncan had been staying at their residence since she was reported missing.
At the time of her disappearance, Duncan was described as five feet seven inches tall, weighing 120 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. She had last been seen in the area of the 36800 block of Sundance Drive in Grand Island, Florida.
Despite her safe recovery, neither Duncan’s parents nor any family members have made any public statements regarding the case.
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