A 17-year-old girl who jumped from a moving vehicle near State Route 316 in Gwinnett County has been missing for more than two weeks, and police are now asking the public for help finding her. Deaniyka Body was last seen on July 24 near the SR 316 eastbound ramp before she hid between cars at a nearby QuikTrip and asked strangers for rides, according to officials.
The Gwinnett County Police Department says Body jumped from a moving vehicle that was transporting her, according to police cited by CBS News Atlanta. Officers responded to the SR 316 eastbound ramp that day, and investigators say Body then made her way to the QuikTrip at 5050 Sugarloaf Parkway, where she hid between vehicles and asked people for a ride. She reportedly stayed in the area for approximately 30 minutes before leaving.
That stretch of road is no quiet side street. State Route 316, also known as University Parkway, is a 38.9-mile arterial highway connecting metro Atlanta to Athens, and its Sugarloaf Parkway interchange in Lawrenceville sits amid a high-volume commercial corridor, according to Wikipedia. The QuikTrip where Body was last seen was built in 2016 as a major travel center near that interchange, per Tomorrow's News Today — a heavily trafficked stop where a teenager could easily disappear into passing traffic.
What Police Know About Her Disappearance
Body is described as Black and female, standing approximately five feet two inches tall and weighing 110 pounds. She was last seen wearing a tight-fitting green romper and a bonnet, and she was carrying a Jack Skellington plushie, according to the police account relayed by CBS News Atlanta. The department released a photograph of Body as part of its appeal for information.
Anyone with information is asked to contact GCPD detectives at 770.513.5300. Community members who prefer to remain anonymous also have another option: Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta raised its standard reward in March 2025 from $2,000 to as much as $5,000 for tips leading to the resolution of major cases, according to the Atlanta Police Foundation.
Why No Amber Alert Was Issued
Police classified Body as a runaway juvenile in the August 11 public appeal, a designation that carries specific legal weight in Georgia. Under Georgia Code § 15-11-381, a runaway is statutorily defined as a child absent from home for at least 24 hours without just cause or parental consent, a status that falls under the state's Child in Need of Services framework rather than criminal law, according to Georgia Criminal Lawyer.
That classification also explains why Georgia's Amber Alert system, known as Levi's Call and managed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, was not activated. The system explicitly excludes runaway juveniles unless there is confirmed evidence of an abduction presenting imminent danger of serious harm or death, per the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Separately, Georgia Code § 35-3-83 still requires law enforcement receiving a missing child report to notify on-duty officers, alert adjoining jurisdictions, and transmit the record to the Georgia Missing Children Information Center.
Body's legal status is further complicated by her age. In Georgia, 17-year-olds are prosecuted as adults for criminal offenses but remain under juvenile court jurisdiction and protective custody for status offenses like running away, according to Georgia Criminal Lawyer.
A Previous Disappearance in DeKalb County
This is not the first time Body has gone missing. In May 2025, when she was 16, she was reported missing from Stone Mountain in neighboring DeKalb County, prompting a missing child bulletin from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, according to a post from the organization. The earlier case suggests possible connections or mobility across county lines, though the dossier does not indicate whether the two disappearances are related.
Body's case also fits into a broader pattern flagged by child-safety advocates. NCMEC data shows more than 300 children were reported missing from care in Georgia annually between 2018 and 2022, and the organization estimates that 1 in 6 endangered runaways nationwide are likely victims of child sex trafficking, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Gwinnett police have not said whether they believe Body is at risk of exploitation; the case remains an active search for a missing juvenile.
