Search for vulnerable St. Peter girl shifts to Minnesota River
Updated 3:30 p.m. | Posted 12:08 p.m.
Southern Minnesota officials say they've been unable to find Mya Ann Arriage, a non-verbal, developmentally disabled 12-year-old who wandered from her St. Peter, Minn., home early Friday morning and they are now searching the Minnesota River.
"Unfortunately, her mother reports to us that she is enamored by water," St. Peter Police Chief Matthew Peters said Friday afternoon.
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Authorities say at about 3:47 a.m. a motorist reported seeing a female on the Minnesota Highway 99 bridge over the Minnesota River wearing pajamas and no shoes.
St. Peter police "quickly arrived in the area but located no one," the department said in an earlier statement posted on Facebook.
About an hour later, police received a "frantic call" from Mya's mother that the girl had wandered out of their home in pink pajama pants with polka dots and no shoes.
Police launched an extensive search, bringing in authorities from Nicollet County, Le Sueur County the Minnesota State Patrol and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
"She was believed to last be seen near the Minnesota River," Peters said. "And since we've really eliminated lots of wooded areas along the river, unfortunately we are conducting searches in the water now."