A South Carolina teen never made it to her first day of school, and now police are on the hunt.
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Marley McKenna Spindler was last seen last Thursday morning after breakfast at Chik-Fil-A, NBC News reports. The 16-year-old texted she was going to pick up an older friend named “Jeremy” and drop him off at his home before she went to class, but she never made it to school.
“One minute we’re managing and the next it all falls into chaos,” aunt Shelley Long. “We can’t rule out that she was abducted, but we also have to face that maybe she ran away. We just don’t know.”
Police say her last known contact with anyone was at 8:42 a.m. that morning. In a group text, she sent a cryptic message that said someone was following her.
“They all thought she was joking, and didn’t think that much of it,” Long said. “They are also teenagers and didn’t want to tattle on their friend if she was cutting school. They didn’t think anything bad had happened. But now we’re all scared.”
Officials did find the 22-year-old man Marley referred to, and he’s been cleared of any involvement in her disappearance.
Lt. Raul Denis of Horry County police said a search of her cell records shows she left alone and was not under any coercion. Surveillance video also shows her driving to a bank and withdrawing less than $100 from her account.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 843-915-8477