FL Girl, 12, Drove Stolen Car 400 Miles To Meet Online Person: Report

LAKE BUTLER, FL — A 12-year-old Florida girl reported missing last week stole her dad's car, picked up a friend and drove nearly 400 miles to Alabama to possibly meet a person they met online, according to an NBC News report.

A missing child alert was shared Thursday for the girl and her 14-year-old friend. Both girls had last been seen in Lake Butler, north of Gainesville, and authorities said they believed the pair was heading west toward Louisiana.

Patch is not identifying the girls because they are minors.

According to the alert, no adult was with the girls and no foul play was suspected.

Chief Deputy Capt. Lyn Williams with the Union County Sheriff's Office told NBC News the department received information that the girls were possibly traveling to "meet someone they met online." Authorities did not say who or how old the person was, according to NBC News.

The girls were reported safe after they saw the missing child alert on television and turned themselves in to authorities in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, according to the report.

Multiple agencies assisted in the search for the girls, including the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.