HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Homestead detectives said Sunday that they have located an 11-year-old girl reported missing last week.
Kanaiya Smith, who was last seen with her foster family on Jan. 7, was spotted on surveillance video days later at the Juice Café at 2834 NE 8th St., in Homestead.
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A worker at the café said the girl asked to use the phone to talk to a relative and that the relative ordered a ride-share vehicle for her. About 20 minutes later, Smith exited the shop and entered a vehicle.
Homestead Police said, at the time, they believed that the 11-year-old was “with an extended family member or friend,” according to Sgt. Fernando Morales in a statement, but made it clear that “interfering with child custody was a crime and could result in an arrest.”
On Sunday night, police said that the girl, a ward of the state of Florida and the Florida Department of Children and Family Services (DCF), was once again in the custody of DCF, and that she was found safe.
Police did not release information as to where Smith was located.