Family receives letter from teen daughter who disappeared five years ago
A mother has received a letter from her daughter who went missing five years ago.
When she was just 14-years-old, Emily Wynell Paul, from Panama City in Florida, disappeared after she packed her bags and ran away.
Her mother Pam Massimiani has shared on Facebook that she has heard from her now 19-year-old for the first time since she vanished in April 2013.
In her post Ms Massimiani wrote: “To all our friends and extended family, we want to let you know that we have heard from Emily. We do not have any further information to share at the moment. Thank you for all your support and love you have shown to our family.”
The Panama City News Herald reports Ms Paul originally left behind a note stating her intentions to run away.
According to news site MyPanhandle.com, a Bay County Sheriff’s investigator told News 13 three years ago the daughter told her parents in the note she originally left that she might contact her family again after turning 18.
Ms Massimiani has not yet revealed the contents of the new letter, but she told the News Herald she was “pretty sure it’s from her”.
Sheriff Tommy Ford also said he felt “pretty good” that the letter was from Ms Paul.
Ms Massimiani said that for now, it was up to her daughter if she would return home or contact her family again.
It is believed that Ms Paul researched how to be a successful runaway online. Her mobile phone pinged only three times in the week after she left home, and she took her Xbox with her, which she may have used for online communication. Her Facebook account has not been active since her disappearance.
Reddit users are pitching in with their own ideas on how to locate the teenager.
“Can they finger print the letter?” someone wrote on Reddit.
“Can they analyse it against any old school work? Can they trace it back to the original post office?”
Ms Massimiani did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.
