Missing Houston girl E’minie Hughes found safe, man arrested in connection with disappearance

A 27-year-old man is in custody on suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl who disappeared from her Houston home a week ago.

Sirterryon Preston was arrested by the Columbus, Texas Police Department on Friday, March 1, after the department became aware of the disappearance of a young girl. E’minie Hughesfor which an Amber Alert was issued on Feb. 28, may be within the Columbus city limits, according to a Facebook post shared by the police department.

When police attempted to arrest Preston, he attempted to flee on foot, but was eventually captured and arrested, the post states.

For now, Preston is in the Colorado County Jail and charged with fraud, police said. More charges may be filed as the FBI investigation into the girl’s disappearance continues, according to the Facebook post.

In an X post shared on Friday, FBI Houston said he was “proud to have helped save another missing child”.

The missing girl was returned to Houston and taken to a hospital, a Houston police spokesperson told USA TODAY.

“Physically, she seemed fine,” the spokesperson said of E’minie’s condition.

Missing children: If your missing child ran away from home, the police may not be looking for them.

E’minie Hughes found ‘unharmed’ in Columbus, Texas

E’minie had been missing since February 22, according to the Texas Center for the Missing.

Houston Police said Hughes was “found unharmed in Columbus, (Texas) a short time ago.” The department did not provide further information due to the ongoing investigation.

“We are determining why (Preston) was with (E’minie),” the Houston police spokesperson told USA TODAY.

Police believe E’minie’s disappearance could be linked to social media app

Before she was found, Houston police said E’minie may have been active on a social media app known as “Tagged.” According to the Apple App Store, “Tagged” is a dating app with approximately 300 million users aged 17 and over.

“Millions of people have fun and make new friends every day on Tagged,” reads the app’s website. “You can also!”

The Meet Group, the parent company of “Tagged,” told USA Today that it “proactively contacted” Houston police to offer any assistance in the case as soon as they became aware of the situation .

“We were deeply saddened to hear the news of E’minie’s disappearance and are relieved at her safe return,” the company said. “Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of the community on our platforms every day.”

The company also said its “terms and conditions prohibit minors from using” its apps and uses “technology and manual analysis” to verify minors who have registered using a false age.

“If we become aware of any attempts to circumvent our process, we will thoroughly investigate any reports involving a possible underage user or child exploitation,” the company said. “We are investing significantly in these efforts, and while we know that unfortunately there is no way to make this process completely foolproof, we are continually evolving to stay at the forefront of security best practices.”

Although Houston police believe the girl may have used “Tagged,” they have not yet released details about how it relates to the case.

“Very heartbreaking”: E’minie’s mother spoke out about the disappearance before the girl was found

E’minie was last seen getting into a dark-colored 4-door Dodge pickup truck, wearing a white crop top and pink sweatpants, the Texas Center for the Missing said.

E’minie’s mother, Shannon Williams, told KPRC on Feb. 27 that she hadn’t seen her daughter since Thursday night before going to bed. When Williams woke up Friday morning, E’minie was gone, the mother said.

“I ate nothing. I did not sleep. Everyone’s pacing around because it’s not like them,” Williams said.

Williams told the TV station that some of E’minie’s clothes and her Android tablet were also missing.

Williams doesn’t know if her daughter was talking to anyone online, KPRC reported. E’minie left the family home for a walk a few hours before she disappeared, according to her mother.

The last conversation between mother and daughter consisted of E’minie asking Williams to wake her up early for school that Friday, KHOU reported.

“Not knowing where she is, what’s happening to her, if she’s OK, if she’s hurt, if she’s alive, it’s very heartbreaking,” Williams told KHOU on Feb. 28.

Jonathan Limehouse covers the latest news and trends for USA TODAY. Contact him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: E’minie Hughes: Missing girl found, Sirterryon Preston arrested