JinJing Ma, a 12-year-old girl visiting from China who was reported abducted by a woman from Reagan National Airport on Thursday morning, was found safe Friday with her parents in Queens, New York, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Authorities originally believed Ma was in extreme danger. She was last seen walking with an unidentified Asian woman and then getting into white Infinity with New York license plates, according to police.
Ma was last seen in Washington wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a black jacket, according to police.
A different man, wearing all black, was also seen in a surveillance photo at the airport with the woman believed to have taken Ma. It is still not known what connection, if any, the man had with Ma.
Ma was part of a student tour group that has been in the U.S. visiting schools and sightseeing since July 26. The group arrived in D.C. from New York Thursday and was supposed to travel to the west coast before heading back to China, said David Huckler, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority chief of police.
Before arriving in Washington, a couple approached Ma while visiting the World Trade Center grounds in New York. Authorities said there was some familiarity between Ma and the couple, and believe that there is a connection to the man and women captured on airport surveillance cameras, Huckler said.
A witness reportedly told police that he may have seen the unidentified woman meet up with Ma in New York and give her food. It is not clear if the woman was a part of the same tour group as Ma, according to NBC affiliate NBC4 Washington.
It remains unclear if the couple that approached Ma in New York or the unknown woman from a witness's account are related to the young girl.
The investigation is now being led by the FBI, the statement read.