In her first public comments, the New Hampshire teenager who returned home nine months after she vanished on the way home from school told her local newspaper that she's "feeling a lot better every day."
Abigail Hernandez stopped by the Conway Daily Sun on Thursday to thank the newspaper for publicizing her disappearance. The paper ran a box every days counting the days she was missing. "Thank you guys, so, so much, I really appreciate it more than I could possibly put in words," she told the newspaper. "I'm taking it a little at a time but I'm feeling a lot better every day."
Abigail was 14 when she disappeared Oct. 9 on the way home from high school. A search was launched, rewards were offered, and billboards and posters went up around the region. The now-15-year-old came home July 20, but the circumstances of her return are so far just as murky as the details of her disappearance.
On Monday, police charged 34-year-old Nathaniel Kibby with kidnapping her, but didn’t release any specifics. Abigail told the newspaper that she looks forward to going horseback riding, and doesn’t want to be seen as a victim. "I'd just like to be treated like a normal person," she said.
IN-DEPTH
- Nathaniel Kibby Held on $1M Bail in Abigail Hernandez Kidnap
- New Hampshire Man Charged in Abigail Hernandez Kidnapping
- Mom of Abigail Hernandez: 'She Did Not Run Away'