Conway police on Thursday announced that missing teen Tanvi Marupally has been back home and safe with her family since Wednesday night, following her disappearance on Jan. 17.
At a press conference the department held on Thursday, police shared details of the timeline that followed the teen’s disappearance.
Marupally — who turned 15 on Friday — was missing for approximately 70 days; she was last seen walking north on Davis Street in Conway.
Conway’s Police Chief William Tapley said Marupally left home due to concerns that her family might be deported back to India.
The chief said that, until yesterday, the only information the department and assisting agencies had involved her last moments on Davis Street.
According to Tapley, Marupally was finally found after a Tampa resident recognized her from a missing person post online after spotting her using a computer in a local library. He said the department was notified early Wednesday morning, which is when they received a tip and photograph of Marupally in the library.
“Ultimately, in a case of sheer luck, when police went to check to see video footage from the library, Tanvi had returned,” Tapley said. “She immediately stated her identity and was taken into protective custody.”
Tapley added that, at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Marupally was asked a series of questions only she would know the answers to and that is how police confirmed her identity.
Tapley said efforts to bring Marupally home began immediately after that confirmation was obtained. “We were then able to organize, go to Tampa, pick her up and bring her back to Conway,” he said. “We did necessary parts of our investigation and reunited Tanvi with her family last night.”
A further breakdown by Tapley and officials with the U.S. Marshals Service explained how and when the teen arrived in Florida.
Authorities said at the press conference that Marupally headed north on Davis Street before walking alongside railroad tracks all afternoon and all night. At some point in her walk, she caught a train that took her to Kansas City, Mo. She arrived there on Jan. 22.
According to Tapley, Marupally checked into a homeless shelter in Kansas City using a fake name and remained in that community for approximately two months.
The 15-year-old then made what Tapley called a seemingly “random” decision to make her way to Tampa.
Marupally is said to have taken a bus from Kansas City to Tampa, where she began living in an abandoned building she discovered.
Tapley said, “Her love for the library is ultimately what brought her home.” Further investigation showed that Marupally had been researching jobs using the computers in a Tampa library.
She also had a new phone, although speakers at the conference could not confirm where and when she got the phone.
Tapley and U.S. Marshal Jeremy Hammons both reiterated that the current investigation shows the teen had no help in her state-to-state journey.
The U.S. Marshals Services has been assisting in missing child cases in 2015, according to Hammons.
“We got involved and we did a briefing with Conway police,” Hammons said. “I remember what stood out to me is that they kept telling me that this child is known to be very resourceful. She was able to survive, get out there and she made a long trek. I’m very thankful that she made it very safely.”