Missing Cherokee Teen Found, Charged as Runaway

The Cherokee County teenager reported missing earlier this month has been located, but is now facing legal trouble.

Mikala White, 15, and another 15-year-old girl were arrested and charged Thursday evening with running away, said Cherokee Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lt. Jay Baker.

A sheriff’s deputy was dispatched Dec. 18 to a suspicious person call along Salacoa Road, which sits off S.R. 140 northwest of Canton.

While patroling the area, the deputy “observed two juvenile girls trying to hide on the side of the road,” Baker stated.

“They claimed they had been staying at an abandoned home in the area,” he added.

Baker said the two teenagers were reported missing Dec. 4 by the Cherokee County School District’s Police Department.

School district spokesperson Barbara Jacoby said Mikala got onto the school bus from her group home the morning of Dec. 4, but never reported to class or rode the bus home.

Cherokee County school police listed Mikala as a runaway and informed the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, the Cobb County police and the Marietta Police Department about the teen’s disappearance.

Cobb police assisted with the investigation, as they received leads that pointed to Mikala possibly being in the agency’s jurisdiction.

Photo credit: Facebook