UPDATED: Baltimore Teen Kennedi High Found In Prince George's County, Police Report

UPDATE — A 16-year-old who has been missing since Wednesday has been found, Baltimore Police said.

Kennedi High, whose disappearance caused concern because she has autism and is in a high-risk age bracket, was located in a Prince George's County apartment complex, police said Monday.

Baltimore Police were informed she was there, and officials said they coordinated with their Prince George's County counterparts, who responded to the location and found her, uninjured.

"The circumstances of her disappearance are still under investigation," Baltimore Police said in a statement Monday afternoon. "We believe that Kennedi did leave voluntarily, but the situation evolved from there."

Police said it was believed that the teen was in Baltimore County and Prince George's counties since she disappeared from Western High School in the 4600 block of Falls Road in Baltimore last Wednesday.

As detectives work to piece together what happened, anyone with information is asked to submit tips using the Baltimore Police app or by contacting Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

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BALTIMORE, MD — The Baltimore Police Department is asking for help finding a missing teen who has autism, and authorities are investigating whether she may have been lured into sex trafficking.

Kennedi High, 16, disappeared last week from Western High School, where she is a sophomore.

High was last seen around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8, during dismissal at Western High School in the 4600 block of Falls Road in Baltimore, police said. Police said High did not attend school Thursday or Friday.

She is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and 120 pounds. She was last seen wearing black pants, a white shirt, black puffy coat, black Ugg boots and red glasses.

When she leaves school, High usually takes the bus, according to Baltimore Police Chief of Media Relations T.J. Smith.

"We don't know if she took the bus that day," Smith said, adding that officials were working with the MTA to obtain surveillance video.

"We need people to provide information. If you saw her that day, if she took the bus, what bus did she take? Was it the normal bus?" he asked. If she did get in a vehicle, what did it look like and what did the person look like? These are questions officials need help answering.

Said Smith: "Every little detail matters."

When the teen did not return home, her family contacted authorities.

Baltimore City School Police took a missing person's report, which was shared with the Baltimore Police Department. The information "began to raise a few more eyebrows as far as the nature of the disappearance," Smith said.

"We're concerned because this is completely unusual," Smith continued, noting High had never gone missing before.

"We're exploring the sex trafficking, or human trafficking, angle..." because of her age, which is within an age group that is targeted, he said.

According to police, 13 to 17-year-olds are at risk of being trafficked into the sex trade. "When we're dealing with missing teenagers in this age bracket," Smith said, "that is something that we have to look into as a possibility."

Coupled with the fact that the missing teen has autism, "She's vulnerable. She's a vulnerable person," Smith said. "She looks at the world a little differently than the rest of us look at the world."

Because of her autism — a developmental disability that can cause behavioral, social and communication challenges — High may not believe that she is at risk.

"She does not have the sense of discernment like you and I," Brandi Stallings, High's mother, said. "I don't think she believes she is in danger, but she really is."

Stallings asked whoever is with her daughter to drop her off at a police station or somewhere safe, stating during a press conference Sunday: "Please bring her back home."

There are six to eight missing persons reports filed daily in Baltimore, and most often, the cases are closed within 72 hours as people return home, Smith said.

Every missing child that the Baltimore Police Department processes is submitted to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children database, which runs an analysis of the case and flags authorities if there are suspicions that a person may be trafficked.

"There were some flags raised in this particular scenario," Baltimore Police Capt. Steve Hohman, who handles special investigations, said. Hohman asked anyone with information, "no matter how big or small" the tip was, to share it with police.

Police said High went missing on Wednesday, March 8, and despite a report that she was placed in Mountain View, California, officials do not believe she was there.

How To Submit Tips

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Baltimore Police Department's missing persons duty line at 410-458-8136. Smith said that anyone in the U.S. may provide information on the whereabouts of Kennedi High by calling 911, since her report is in the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children database.

Those with information may also contact Baltimore Police using the department's new app, tapping the category "other" to submit tips.

Photos courtesy of Baltimore Police.