Editor’s note: This story corrects the girl’s detention status. We regret the error.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A 16-year-old girl accused of staging her disappearance to extort money from her father remains in detention following a hearing Wednesday in Mahoning County Juvenile Court.
The girl, who was found early Tuesday afternoon not far from her South Side home, was arraigned before Magistrate Karen Romano Melone on two charges of extortion, four charges of inducing panic and a single count of possession of criminal tools.
The charges carry sentences of six months to being held until she is 21.
She will remain in juvenile detention until a preliminary hearing is held within the next seven to 10 days.
Police began searching for the girl early Tuesday after they received a report she had run away from home.
Later, her father was receiving text messages that the girl was being held at gunpoint and that if he didn’t pay a ransom, she would be harmed.
Police, with the help of several different law enforcement agencies, found the girl several hours later not far from her home.
The girl at various points told her father she had a gun to her head and left instructions for him to send money via Cash App, police said.
