Marion County

Missing, endangered Marion County girl, 14, could be in Orlando area

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Marion County deputies are searching for a missing and endangered teen.

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Deputies said 14-year-old Aliyah Williams left the Heart of Florida Youth Ranch in Citra with an unknown man, and they’re worried for her safety.

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Investigators believe they may have headed to the Orlando area.

According to deputies, she was last seen wearing a black hoodie, black shorts, and red, white and black shoes. She currently has red and black hair with one nose piercing on each nostril.

Dr. John Sweet, the executive director- of Heart of Florida Youth Ranch, said they believe she ran through some woods along the edge of the property to break away from her group and may have hopped a fence to get into a car with someone she met online.

Sweet said they were trying to help get Aliyah, who just turned 14 last week,  into a loving family situation like they do all of the children who come there. The ranch is a place for children who have lost their parents or been separated from their parents and are vulnerable to human trafficking.

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Sweet said he spoke with Aliyah about 15 minutes before she disappeared.

“Aliyah was saying that she was sick. And so she didn’t go out for the activity,” Sweet said.

They believe she then left the property and got in a car with a man she met online who promised to take her to Orlando and bring her back Monday night, something other girls later told them she had been planning.

But Sweet said he fears she could become the victim of human trafficking.

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“There is an element in our communities that has no good, they have nothing good for our children. And they’re looking for children who are vulnerable,” he said.

The sheriff’s office has entered her photo and information into a statewide and a nationwide database. Anyone who sees her or knows of her whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately.

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Jeff Deal

Jeff Deal, WFTV.com

I joined the Eyewitness News team as a reporter in 2006.