New hope for mother whose daughter went missing 5 years ago

The mother of a missing Florida girl receives a letter after 5 years

Five years ago, in April 2013, a Florida family went through a nightmare when their 14-year-old daughter Emily Wynell Paul went missing from her home.

Now, after half a decade of silence, Emily's mother Pan Massimiani posted a statement on Facebook on the 26th of July 2018, informing friends and family that she has received a letter from Emily.

Her family believes that the letter is genuine, and was written by Emily herself to reassure them of her wellbeing. This missive has given the family new hope that they may see Emily, now 19, once again.

“To all our friends and extended family, we want to let you know that we have heard from Emily.”

Pan Massimiani, Facebook, 26th of July 2018.

According to Massimiani, before she ran away, Emily had told her family that she would contact them when she turned 18 years old.

Emily had run away, after doing extensive research online on how to be a successful runaway, investigators revealed.

The family has not shared the letter with the authorities, and Massimiani has refused to divulge the contents but claims that she is “pretty sure it’s from her.”

Why Emily ran away from her family is as great a mystery as to why she has now supposedly contacted them again

National Runaway Safeline reports that while most children who runaway return home safe within a week, those that don't face the high-risk life on the streets where they often become victims of prostitution rings or succumb to drug addiction.

N.R.S. inquiries among street children and runaways reveal that 47% had serious conflicts with a parent; 50% reported that their parents told them to leave or knew they were leaving but did not care; 80% of runaway girls reported having been sexually or physically abused.; 34% of runaway girls and boys reported sexual abuse before leaving home and were disregarded or disbelieved.

In a country where over 2 million people under 18 run away from home each year, Massimiani is one of the fortunate few whose child has reached out and reassured her of her well-being.