CT Teen Who Snuck Off To Morocco To Meet Facebook Boyfriend Now Back Home [UPDATE]

Rebecca Arthur’s mother thought she was was dropping her teenager off at the airport to visit a friend in California, but it turned into a four-day nightmare spanning halfway across the globe for her family.

Arthur, 17, of Clinton, Conn., instead flew to Morocco to visit a teenager who is reportedly her boyfriend she met on Facebook.

Thankfully, the saga ended Friday after Moroccan authorities located the teen safe and sound.

“The Clinton Police Department is extremely happy to announce that the missing juvenile in this matter, Rebecca Arthur, has been located safe and sound in the town of Essaouira, Morocco,” said Clinton Police Sgt. Jeremiah Dunn on July 10.

Arthur was located in the early hours of July 10, at 3 a.m. local time. She was found by Moroccan police at a vacation villa in the seaside community of Essaouira, Morocco.

“At that time Arthur was in the company of Simo El Adala [boyfriend] and his family,” Dunn said. “After being located, Arthur was able to speak with her mother briefly via telephone.”

She is receiving consular services. On Saturday afternoon, Arthur returned to the United States and landed at JFK International Airport at 5:24 p.m. reports, NBC Connecticut.

Clinton police escorted her back to Connecticut from the airport.

“We are happy to announce that Rebecca Arthur is home safely,” said Sgt. Jeremiah Dunn, of the Clinton Police department on Saturday via NBC Connecticut. “She was just brought home by our detectives who met her as she got off the plane in New York City.”

It All Began on Monday

Arthur’s mother dropped her off at the Delta Airlines terminal of JFK International Airport on Monday, July 6. She arrived in the North African country on July 7, Dunn said.

“Her parents were unaware of her plans or the details of the Facebook relationship,” he said.

Local residents expressed concern for the teen’s safety in the comments section on Patch and via Facebook, but thankfully their worst fears did not come to fruition.

The effort to locate Arthur involved officials from Homeland Security as well as multiple U.S. and Moroccan agencies.

Clinton Police thanked all agencies involved for participating in the investigation.

“We would also like to thank the numerous individuals locally that came forward and provided our investigators information, while we still actively pursuing the whereabouts of Rebecca Arthur,” Dunn said.