Colorado 14-year-old girl found safe after being reported missing

Taniya Freeman went missing on Jan. 2.

January 4, 2022, 7:26 PM

Taniya Freeman, 14, was found on Tuesday in Aurora, Colorado, after being reported missing over the weekend. A spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department said that she's now home safe with her mother.

Freeman's father, Nigel Freeman, said the family had no additional comment but that they appreciated everyone who shared the posts about their missing daughter on social media.

Taniya left her father's home between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Jan. 2, her mother, Tiana Wilder, told ABC News earlier on Tuesday.

Wilder urged her daughter to come home.

"We miss her. We love her, of course, and the safest place for her to be is here with us," she said.

PHOTO: The Aurora (Colo.) Police Department posted this photo of missing 14-year-old Taniya, who left her home in the early morning hours of Jan. 2, 2022.
The Aurora (Colo.) Police Department posted this photo of missing 14-year-old Taniya, who left her home in the early morning hours of Jan. 2, 2022.
Aurora (Colo.) Police Dept.

The Aurora Police Department said Taniya has long hair with pink streaks and may have a backpack with her. Wilder said that she believed her daughter was wearing a black hoodie and red pants.

Wilder previously said her daughter didn't have a history of running away and that there wasn't anything out of the ordinary, as far as arguments or yelling, that night.

"I have no idea who she is with; where she is at and that's my concern," Wilder said prior to her daughter being found. "So as far as any harm coming, yeah, I am worried."

Agent Matthew Longshore, a spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department, had told ABC News that the department was working with limited information. "Our investigators are still following up on different leads and we're trying to find her," he said.

"If her friends know something, tell us. And [don't] think that they are snitching on her or getting her trouble," Wilder had said. "Whatever they know that could be helpful is what we need to know."