Two middle school girls who disappeared Monday evening from a basketball game in Elbert County were found safe Tuesday, school officials said.
The girls, a seventh-grader and an eighth-grader on the Colorado Springs School basketball team, were attending an away game at Elbert School when staff noticed they were missing, spokesperson Marie Newbrough said.
Newbrough said the two girls left before the game began and were spotted leaving the building at 5 p.m. Monday.
Once school officials realized the girls were missing, they immediately notified local authorities and the students’ families, Newbrough said in an email to The Denver Post.
Classes were canceled Tuesday in Elbert County as the search continued into the morning, .
Shortly after 9:30 a.m., Newbrough confirmed the girls had been found safe.
Information about how and why the students left the school was not immediately available on Tuesday.
“Our entire school community is focused on supporting the safe return of these students,” Ryan Kelly, head of the Colorado Springs School, said in a statement. “We are fully cooperating with law enforcement and providing all requested information to assist in search efforts. Our thoughts are with the families during this difficult time.”
Elbert School, 24489 Main St., served as the incident command post for search and rescue efforts on Tuesday, .
This is a developing story and will be updated.
