SNOHOMISH — Police in Lynnwood found missing 14-year-old Elizabeth Harwood on Thursday morning at a grocery store.
The Snohomish girl had been missing since Wednesday afternoon, when she left her home in the 500 block of Avenue D around noon.
“She appears to be uninjured but will be taken to a local hospital for evaluation,” Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
The girl was found at a store in the 19800 block of 44th Ave. W. in the company of a 60-year-old man. He was taken into custody by Lynnwood police officers on an outstanding warrant. A grocery store employee called 911 after spotting the pair about 8 a.m., Lynnwood police Cmdr. Jim Nelson said. The relationship between the man and girl was unknown Thursday morning.
The sheriff’s office Special Investigations Unit is trying to determine what happened, Ireton said.
As of noon Thursday, the man was being held at the Lynnwood Jail pending a transfer to county jail, Nelson said. His warrant was for misdemeanor criminal trespassing and unrelated to the girl.
The girl, who has a developmental disability, left on her bike to a friend’s house Wednesday afternoon. She did not arrive at that destination.
Her family searched for her for three hours and then called to report her missing.
The Snohomish Police Department and a sheriff’s office search and rescue unit also looked for the girl and sent out alerts to news media.
Harwood reportedly has the mental capacity of a younger child, Ireton said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
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