Missing 8-year-old girl found safe; reunited with mother

ATLANTA — An 8-year-old girl who disappeared Thursday and was gone all night is safe at home Friday.

Channel 2's Kristen Holloway was there Friday morning when Imani Colvin was reunited with her mother and several family members at Perkerson Park in southwest Atlanta.

Imani's mother, Shamaria Colvin, spoke with Holloway while police were still searching for Imani.

“She was at the park, at the time I was at work actually, I was on the phone and she was supposed to come get the phone but met some young girls and wouldn’t listen and went off with them,” Colvin said.

Dozens of officers, K-9 units, officers on horseback and even a helicopter crew searched for Imani for nearly 12 hours before they found her less than a mile away from the park.

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Investigators say she had gone home with two older girls and ended up staying the night.

Holloway asked investigators if the parents in the home knew Imani was there.

“I don’t think they initially realized she was there until we knocked on the door that’s when the pieces came together,” said Lt. Jeff Baxter, with the Atlanta Police Department.

It’s unclear how Imani wasn’t noticed overnight but police say the homeowner was just as shocked as they were.

“We’re just glad that she’s safe. A lot of us have children at home. We were out here in the rain all night long, but the officers did a tremendous job. We felt for her and we were determined not to leave here today until we found her and that’s exactly what we did,” Baxter said.

Imani is back with her family. She was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital to be checked out.

Cox Media Group