CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich. — Investigators are sharing more details about the whereabouts of a Cedar Springs teen who had been missing for nearly two months.
17-year-old Penelope "Penny" Wise was found safe Sunday after she was seen leaving a Rockford home on her bike.
Investigators determined that Wise had met a 44-year-old Rockford man around 2 a.m. on June 1, just hours after she went missing. The man was a stranger, according to detectives.
Wise then lived with him at his home until she was found. Investigators say Wise and the man were engaged.
Wise walked away from her home the evening of May 31 after a "disagreement" with her parents, police said. The search for her involved the FBI, US Marshalls, Rockford police and community members.
Wise's parents spoke to 13 ON YOUR SIDE on Sunday, saying that it was a relief knowing she was found safe.
“It's surreal knowing that she's been found,” said Mishael Wise, Penelope's mother. "We still haven't been able to lay eyes on her, so I think once we're able to actually see her it will sink in even more. We are very relieved that she's been found.”
After being missing for nearly two months, Penny’s father David Wise said the family is still processing the difficult weeks of not knowing where she was.
“It’s still so fresh at this point that we haven't even really been able to come to grips with this is actually happening in a good way,” David Wise said. "We've had months and months of this happening to us, but now all of a sudden, she's been found and it still has a little bit to sink in on its own yet.”
Police said Penny is in their custody as the investigation continues.