The New Jersey teen who tricked thousands of people on Twitter and police into believing she was taken from her home has been found.
Kara Alongi, 16, was found Tuesday afternoon walking along the New Jersey turnpike after having gone missing for almost two days.
Alongi was taken to a hospital and ultimately returned to her home in Clark, N.J.
“Law enforcement officials have said that Alongi was never in danger,” the Newark-based Star-Ledger reported. “She skipped town on her own free will, [police] said, when she took a taxi to the Rahway train station and bought a ticket for a train bound to New York City’s Penn Station.”
Alongi set the social media world on fire after she tweeted Sunday asking people to call 911 on her behalf because someone was in her house. That message was retweeted more than 30,000 times, inspired the national trending hashtag #helpfindkara, and overwhelmed Clark police with more than 6,000 phone calls.
The tweet was revealed as a lie Tuesday after police discovered that a taxi was ordered to Alongi’s house around the same time the message was sent, and a girl matching her description was seen at the Rahway train station.
Alongi has not tweeted since Sunday. Police have not determined whether the teen will face charges.
Photo via Kara Alongi/Facebook