BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - An 8-year-old girl who went missing after leaving her Brockton home by herself on Monday night was found safe at her friend’s house on Tuesday after touching off a frantic 16-hour search, state police said.
Officers responding to a report of a missing child on Ames Street around 8 p.m. met with a woman who said her and her daughter, identified as Grace Adorno, got into a verbal dispute and that a half-hour later, she noticed Adorno was gone, according to Brockton Police Chief Emanuel Gomes.
A home surveillance camera in the area captured Adorno walking westbound on Ames Street, Gomes added.
Members of the Brockton Police Department, state police and the FBI conducted an extensive search of the area for Adorno, which continued into late Tuesday morning. Many neighborhood residents also helped scour the area.
“The concern with all missing children is as time passes, our concern grows,” Gomes said, “that’s why we’re trying to deploy all of our assets to mitigate that.”
Investigators later learned that Adorno had spent the night sleeping under a tarp on the porch of a family friend’s home.
“This morning I hear knocking…I open up the door and she’s there,” said Devonna Buffalo, who called 911 to report that she had found Adorno.
State police announced around 12:15 p.m. that Adorno had been found unharmed.
The young girl was taken to Brockton Hospital to undergo an evaluation before being reunited with her mother.
Buffalo, who has known Adorno and her mother for years, is thankful the incident was resolved safely.
“I’m relieved that she is safe and is OK,” Buffalo said.
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