A 14-year-old Washington County girl reported missing since Friday morning has been located safely in Canonsburg and is being returned home, but police say a second teen, 13-year-old Kimea Lowry, remains missing. Both girls were reported missing out of the City of Washington, Pennsylvania, and investigators say they had not been seen since Friday morning.
What Police Know So Far
According to WPXI, Washington police received missing person reports on both Alia Matthews and Kimea Lowry, with the Washington County Police Department sharing information publicly as the search unfolded. Matthews, described as 5 feet 4 inches tall and around 150 pounds, was said by police to possibly be located in either Pittsburgh or Canonsburg, and her clothing at the time she disappeared was unknown, per the same report. She has since turned up safe in Canonsburg and is being returned home.
Lowry, who is 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs around 145 pounds, may have been carrying an orange bookbag and wearing black Birkenstock-style shoes, according to the outlet's report. Police said she may be located in Pittsburgh, though her whereabouts remain unknown as of Monday. Anyone with information has been asked to call 911.
Why Investigators Looked Toward Canonsburg and Pittsburgh
The geography behind the search area isn't arbitrary. Canonsburg, where Matthews was ultimately found, is about 7.4 miles from the City of Washington, and I-79 links the two, according to Blip. Pittsburgh was the other city police flagged as a possible location for both teens; Canonsburg is 18 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, according to the Borough of Canonsburg. I-79 handles average daily traffic exceeding 50,000 vehicles, per Blip.
The Legal Clock Starts Immediately, Not After a Waiting Period
A common misconception is that families or police must wait a set period before treating a missing child as an active case. Under Pennsylvania's Crimes Code, Title 18 Section 2908, law enforcement agencies are statutorily required to investigate reports of missing children immediately upon receipt, with the law strictly prohibiting any mandatory waiting period, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. That same standard requires officers to enter missing juvenile data into the Commonwealth Law Enforcement Assistance Network and the FBI's National Crime Information Center database as soon as a report is filed, per the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, which means officers conducting routine stops anywhere in the state can flag a missing minor.
The Pennsylvania State Police also maintain a Missing Endangered Person Advisory system, distinct from an AMBER Alert, that circulates time-sensitive bulletins to regional media and law enforcement when a missing person is considered to be at special risk of harm, according to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It remains unclear whether Washington authorities will request such an advisory if Lowry is not located soon.
National Data Underscores the Stakes
Cases like these are part of a much larger national pattern. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children assisted with 32,167 missing children cases nationwide in 2025, with runaway youth accounting for 92% of reports and 90% of all cases safely resolved, according to MissingKids.org. Still, the organization's research indicates that roughly 1 in 6 missing runaway youth reported to NCMEC are likely victims of child sex trafficking, which is why child protection advocates urge rapid public outreach regardless of the circumstances under which a teen initially went missing.
Anyone with information about Kimea Lowry's whereabouts is urged to call 911.
