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Aaliyah Ramirez, 14-year-old missing from Syracuse, Indiana since April, found safe in Florida

Aaliyah disappeared walking to her bus stop on April 27, 2021, in Syracuse, Indiana.

Missing 14-year-old Aaliyah Ramirez has been found safe in Florida, four months after she disappeared while walking to the bus stop in Syracuse, Indiana, the Syracuse Police Department Dispatch confirmed to Dateline Saturday.

Aaliyah Ramirez
Aaliyah Ramirez

The teen, who was featured in Dateline NBC’s “Missing in America,” was last seen leaving her home on Parkway Drive in Syracuse on the morning of April 27, 2021.

A Silver Alert was issued three days later and remained active during the search for Aaliyah. The alert stated that authorities believed the teen to be in danger.

After four months of searching and pleas to the public on the Find Aaliyah Ramirez/#FindAaliyahRamirez Facebook page, the teen was located.

The alert was canceled on Friday and police confirmed Aaliyah had been located safe and alive in Florida. No further details regarding the case or the events leading up to her being found were available as of Saturday morning, though officials have indicated additional information will be released later in the day.

Aaliyah’s parents, Anthony Ramirez and Ashli Aspy, told Dateline back in May that they thought their daughter could be in Florida, where she has relatives, but believed she was being held against her will and that she was in danger.

On Friday, Aaliyah’s mother Ashli Aspy posted to Facebook the news that her daughter had been found safe. She said two women, Liz Sands and Allissa Sands, who she previously identified as family members, were arrested, accused of keeping the teen in a hotel room for months.

A search of jail records with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office revealed Elizabeth Sands, 47, and Allissa Sands, 25, are being held on out-of-state fugitive charges.

Police would not confirm details of the arrest or specify where in Florida Aaliyah was found.