The 14-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl who who went missing in the Venice area over the weekend “left and returned on their own free will,” a Los Angeles police sergeant said today.
Timothy Jacob Reed and Ashley Montes walked to Montes’ home in the 1000 block of Fifth Avenue about 9 p.m. Monday, said Sgt. Patricia Suarez. Police later reunited Reed with his parents.
Investigators who interviewed Reed and Montes reported that they appeared safe and sound and had not been kidnapped or assaulted.
“There were no adult predators,” Suarez said. “It was a straight runaway.” Investigators today were still piecing together the juveniles’ stories of what they did during the two days they were away.
The boy and girl are friends who had last been seen together around 4 p.m. Saturday near Mark Twain Middle School, said Los Angeles police Officer Mike Lopez. They apparently said they were planning to take a bus to Venice Beach, he said.
