A 10-year-old girl whose disappearance sparked a huge search involving up to 200 law enforcement agents had sneaked into the car of a family friend when she ran away from home Thursday night.
between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. following an argument with her stepmother, said Jenny Fulton, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
Madeleine went to her room following the disagreement with her stepmom, but then later left the family’s home in Golden and hid in the back of the car of a family friend, according to a department tweet Friday afternoon.
Update: Missing child Madeleine was inadvertently taken to Aurora by a family friend. She hid in back of the friend’s vehicle unbeknown to the driver, then she left the vehicle after it was parked at the friend’s home for the night. She was located at a nearby residence this a.m.
— Jeffco Sheriff (@jeffcosheriffco)
The family friend did not know the girl was in the car and inadvertently took her to Aurora.
Madeleine left the vehicle sometime after it was parked at the friend’s home for the night. Around 7 a.m. Friday, she walked to a nearby residence, knocked on the door and asked the strangers for help and food. The neighbor called police.
Officials said early on they didn’t believe the girl had been abducted. “We’re just grateful she was found,” Fulton said.
Madeline isn’t the only young runway to be inventive in her escape.
In March, . She was found about four days and 300 miles away after she hitched a ride on a coal train. She left the train after getting hungry because she’d run out of Skittles.
