Two missing 13-year-old girls were found safe after they went missing from a middle school basketball game in Colorado.
The two girls, identified as Eva and Neilliy, were last seen at Elbert School on Monday, Dec. 15, around 5 p.m. The pair were attending a basketball game.
"We are writing to inform you of a serious situation that occurred last night during our away middle school basketball game in Elbert," the Elbert School District said in post. "Two of our students left the Elbert campus before the game began, and their whereabouts remain unknown at this time.”
Elbert County Sheriff's Office launched an immediate search for the girls, which involved the use of canines, ATVs, drones and people on foot.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 16, Elbert County Undersheriff Dave Fisher said the two girls had been found a the home of a stranger.
“They are safe, they’re cold, and they are eating breakfast,” Fisher said. Eva and Neilliy were medically evaluated and would be reunited with their families, he added.
The home where they eventually showed up was about seven or eight miles from where they disappeared. The man fed the girls, kept them warm and called the police.
Fisher noted that the girls were cross-country runners and that they did not have their cell phones when they disappeared. It remains unclear why they went missing.
“They’re in good health now,” he said. “I think we can be thankful that they’ve been found and safe.”
