Missing California teen found hiding in closet of home with hidden trapdoor
Three people were arrested after a missing girl was found hiding in a closet of a home where she allegedly slept under a hidden trapdoor.
CALAVERAS COUNTY, Calif. (WJW) -- Three people were arrested after a missing girl was found hiding in a closet of a home where she allegedly slept under a hidden trapdoor.
According to a press release from the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office, the 14-year-old girl, who is unnamed in this report because she is a minor, was reported missing Oct. 22 after visiting a friend. She was given permission to spend a few nights at the friend’s home, but when her mother went to pick her up, people at the home told her she’d already left.
Authorities searched the home and the nearby area.
“Occupants at the residence told deputies that [the girl] had left and was last observed walking down the driveway,” a sheriff’s release said.
After more than a week, detectives investigating the disappearance obtained new information and acquired a warrant to again search the home where the teen was last seen.
When authorities arrived to conduct the search, the occupants met them in the front yard and insisted the girl was not there.
However, detectives found her deep within two adjoining closets "as she was intentionally hiding amongst densely hanging clothes." She was unharmed.
Detectives also found a hidden trapdoor that led to a makeshift sleeping area on a dirt floor under the home. Inside the sleeping area, detectives found bedding and the girl's phone.
Three suspects were arrested.
Isaiah Haggard, 20, and Annie Pearl Abernathy, 41, were arrested on several charges, including providing false information to a peace officer, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and felony child endangerment.
They were being held on $100,000 bail each.