A 17-year-old girl from Ohio with autism, who had been missing since landing in Atlanta for a connection flight last week, was found safe Sunday afternoon, the FBI said.
The agency originally said Emma Danei Linek — who also goes by the name Azari Holmes, or Zari — had left Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with an “unknown man” about 10 a.m. Tuesday in the North Daily Parking lot.
The FBI later located the man, but Linek was not with him, Assistant Special Agent Christopher Macrae said during a Saturday news conference.
Late Sunday afternoon, the bureau said Linek had walked into a police department and was reunited with her father.
“FBI Atlanta appreciates the help of the media and public in spreading her picture and alerting law enforcement about her possible locations,” the agency said.
The agency did not immediately identify the police department or provide other details about the teen’s condition.
She was initially believed to have been “endangered” and was in need of her daily medication, which Macrae said she did not have with her. He added that Linek had been diagnosed with autism, but it would not have been immediately apparent, as she is a “generally outgoing, bubbly person.”
On Sunday morning before they found her, the FBI said that they, along with MARTA police, confirmed through surveillance video that Linek was seen getting off a train at the Lindbergh Center station, more than 15 miles north of the airport in Buckhead, on Tuesday night.
Linek flew from Cleveland to Atlanta on Delta Air Lines on Tuesday. Her final destination was Boston. She was in Atlanta for a layover after originally missing her direct flight, Macrae said Saturday.
“That flight change was unscheduled, so she did not know she was going to be in Atlanta,” he added.
The FBI said it did not release information about Linek’s disappearance sooner as agents were working to track down the man with whom she was seen leaving the airport.
“She’s a wonderful girl. A sweet and bubbly personality,” said Linek’s father, Mike Linek, who was at Saturday’s news conference, adding that the family was anxious to “have her back with us.”
