A 15-year-old girl is reported missing to the police by her parents and the following is learned by the responding officer: The parents are in shock as their daughter is a good student and there is no apparent reason for her to run away—no fights with her parents or other factors known to either parent. She was discovered missing when the mother came home from work at 6:00 p.m. and her daughter should have been home for hours. There were no notes and she is now missing for over four hours. The girl is somewhat of a loner (no known friends), and spends a lot of time in her room studying. She is an “A” student. She has a computer in her room and it is connected to the Internet. She has talked to her parents about new friends she has made in chat rooms. After checking her room, her mother found that her suitcase is missing along with all of her “fun money.” Based on the information above, what is the best theory (at this point) behind the child’s status, and what should the officer investigating the case do next?
