The frantic search for a missing 11-year-old Miami Gardens girl ended with a sigh of relief as she was found safe in Hollywood, police said. Galiea Jones Duncanson, who has autism, was reported missing from her home Tuesday noon and triggered a Florida Missing Child Alert. However, her ordeal came a to calming close when a vigilant Good Samaritan, who had noticed the Amber Alert, spotted her at a Walgreens on Young Circle later that evening.
According to CBS News Miami, Galiea's mother expressed her profound gratitude upon her daughter's safe return, "I'm relieved. I'm happy. I'm happy that she found out because she's gonna be able to come home and have a meal and sleep in a warm bed." The child's departure from her home was as sudden as it was unexpected, stemmed from a disagreement over her attire - specifically her wish to wear slippers to school, which her parents did not allow.
In a stroke of good fortune, the diligence of local authorities and citizens paid off after a Good Samaritan's alertness. "Someone who had seen the Amber Alert called it in, they actually stopped her and asked if it was her and she said, yes," Dwight Duncanson, Galiea's father, told CBS News Miami. Remarkably, it is believed that Galiea managed to get on a bus by herself and traveled to Hollywood, where she was eventually found.
The community support extended beyond mere observance; it was a physical canvas of concern, as captured by 7SkyForce which showed footage of police going door-to-door with missing persons flyers in hand. "After she came from school having a bad day I picked her up early and one thing led to another and she just left a note and she is running away," Duncanson recounted in an interview with WSVN. It was this level of mobilization that underscored the seriousness with which the community approached Galiea's disappearance.
Galiea, described as standing at 5 feet, 1 inch tall, weighing about 160 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair, was recovered without harm. She was last seen before her disappearance wearing a blue shirt with colorful leggings, sporting a Powerpuff Girls backpack and a Hello Kitty ink stamp on her left hand. The family expressed their happiness and relief that Galiea was unharmed and praised the community and police for their diligent efforts in ensuring a happy ending to a potentially tragic event.
