Massive search for Beaver Co. teen ends; girl found safe

DARLINGTON, Pa. — A massive search effort in Darlington came to an end just before 8 p.m. Saturday with a teenage girl found safe.

More than 30 people from several emergency agencies throughout Beaver County came together at a command center on Cannelton Road. First responders and volunteers then spread out on foot, using dogs and ATVs to search the wooded area and North Country Trail for a 15-year-old girl.

The town’s second assistant fire chief, Rob Heaton told Channel 11 News the girl left her home off Cannelton Road in Darlington around 4 p.m. and headed toward the woods. It’s unclear why she left and if she was believed to be in any danger.

News reporter Antoinette DelBel asked Heaton why there was such a big search for a possible runaway.

“Yeah, you hate to find out she ran away for whatever reason,” Heaton said. “She has no medical conditions we know of. It is a lot of resources, but we’re here for public safety so we have to get her home.”

The teenage girl was found about four hours later about a mile and a half away from her home. But the teen wasn’t found by any of the search crews. A neighbor spotted her and convinced her to get in the car to go home.

“She was found by a neighbor from up the street,” said Heaton. “She was going to have some signs of dehydration, and she was scratched up pretty good, so she had been through the woods and bushes.”

That neighbor brought the girl back to her parents who were waiting for her at the command post.

“When she came back to the command and saw the amount of people who was looking for her, she was in tears,” said Heaton. “Probably happiness that someone was looking for her. That she does matter.”

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