Missing 16-year-old girl from Hurst found with 21-year-old man in Austin
.jpg "Makinzy Sparks of Hurst who had been missing for several days was found safe in Austin on Tuesday, authorities said.")
A 16-year-old girl missing for several days before she was found safe Tuesday ran away from home to be with a 21-year-old Austin man, police said.
The Austin man drove to Hurst last week, picked up Makinzy Sparks and traveled back to Austin, police said.
Police received a tip about the teen’s whereabouts and contacted Austin police. Austin police found the girl and the man Tuesday afternoon.
“They were detained, and her mother was contacted,” said Hurst police Detective Chad Woodside in a Wednesday telephone interview. “Her mother immediately drove down there to get her.”
Woodside said officers would confer with the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office on any possible charges against the Austin man.
“She went willingly,” Woodside said. “But she is 16.”
Police believe the girl met the man online.
Her mother reported the girl missing last week after she went missing on the morning of Nov. 15 from their Hurst home.
Family members and friends posted fliers throughout Northeast Tarrant County in hope that someone had seen Sparks and would call police.
Family members also issued alerts on social media for help in finding her.
Her family also reported her disappearance to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Jennifer Avery, Sparks’ mother, had even feared that someone had picked her daughter up as part of a sex trafficking ring.
Avery also feared her daughter was with a 33-year-old Colleyville man who befriended her in June after the two met online. He was later charged in the case.