Missing teen with Gwinnett County ties found safe; Adopted father arrested

A 14-year-old girl from east Tennessee who has been missing for more than two weeks has been found safe in Wisconsin, several media outlets reported Thursday night.

The teen who has been missing from her Madisonville home since Jan. 13, was found in a residence in Wisconsin, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

"She is safe, she is in custody so that's a very good ending to this," Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones told WATE. "She's doing fine."

FBI agents in Wisconsin found the girl around 9 p.m. Thursday, according to a tweet from the FBI's Knoxville division.

Earlier Thursday, the teen's adoptive father, Randall Pruitt, 41, was arrested and charged with rape, WKRN reported. The rape charge is related to the case, according to authorities.

He is being held in the Monroe County Jail.

Randall Pruitt is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

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The teen "had access to food and water" and "appeared to be doing fine," Jones told the newspaper. The sheriff would not comment on how the teen got to Wisconsin or who she was with when she was found, nor would he give information about her cellphone, the News Sentinel reported.

"I'm having to be vague in all my statements because this is still an ongoing investigation," Jones told the newspaper. “There’s the possibility of multiple other charges coming forward with multiple people involved. And truthfully that’s about all we can say at this time."

The teen grew up in Lawrenceville but recently moved to Tennessee.

NOTE: An earlier version of the story named the girl. Her name was removed to protect her privacy in light of the rape charge.

Cox Media Group