Teen girl missing for two months found living with and engaged to 44-year-old stranger she just met

Tuesday, July 23, 2024 - A teenage girl who had been missing for nearly two months after she disappeared from her family’s Michigan home in May was found Sunday, July 21, living with and engaged to an older man she had just met, officials said.

According to the Kent County Sheriff's Office, Penelope “Penny” Wise, 17, was reported missing by family members after she ran away from her Cedar Springs home around 6 p.m. on May 31.

She was last seen on security footage walking alone near a bar in Rockford around midnight on June 1.

Wise met a 44-year-old man that night and she moved in with him, the sheriff’s office said Monday, July 22, in an update to her missing person’s case.

The teen was believed to have voluntarily left her home, but in the nearly two months since she was spotted near the bar, there was not a trace of the girl anywhere.

She had not been seen by either bystanders or security cameras in the area, leading to a massive search by investigators from the FBI, US Marshals Service, Michigan State Police and the Rockland Department of Safety.

“We believe she intentionally walked away from home, but due to the length of time and no sightings, KCSO (Kent County Sheriff’s Office) and her family are concerned for her well-being,” the sheriff’s office said in a June 7 update.

Despite the help from other law enforcement agencies and volunteers, additional on-the-ground searches and an open tipline for information about Wise, investigators had no leads into her disappearance until Sunday morning.

An “observant” community member called police around 11 a.m. on July 21 after seeing the teen girl riding a bike and recognizing her from the missing persons flyers.

Investigators responded and learned that Wise had been living with the unnamed man 27 years her senior since the night she ran away from home.

She had first met him around 2 a.m. June 1 and had been living in his house from that same day until this past Sunday, July 21, when she left the home on a bike and was spotted by the resident.

Investigators also learned that Wise and the man had gotten engaged in the time between her disappearance and this weekend.

They said the teenage girl was located “safe” and sheriff’s detectives are still investigating the case.

The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office has not authorized any charges against Wise’s new fiancé, according to M Live.