Credit : Washington County NC Sheriffs Office

NEED TO KNOW

A California girl who was kidnapped in 2020 has been found across the country
The now-11-year-old victim was found on Tuesday, March 10 and had been living under another name, according to a statement from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina
The girl is safe in protective custody, the sheriff’s office said

A California girl who was kidnapped in 2020 has been found across the country, where authorities say she had been living under another name.

The now-11-year-old victim was found on Tuesday, March 10, according to a statement from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.

The sheriff’s office said deputies determined the child had been enrolled in the Washington County School District under an “alias name.” After coordinating with multiple agencies in North Carolina and California, investigators located the girl and took her into protective custody. Officials said she is safe.

The girl was previously identified by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, but PEOPLE is withholding her name for her privacy.

She was 5 years old when she was last seen in Duarte, Calif., on June 2, 2020, per the NCMEC.

The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services received a missing persons report the following month, but soon the child’s mother stopped communicating with authorities, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

The mother was believed to have taken the child, per the statement from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

Washington County NC Sheriffs Office

“These are very rare occurrences to have such a positive outcome on such an old case as this,” the WCSO said. “But it reminds us that through hard work, and dedication, and cooperation…stories with positive outcomes like these can happen.”

Authorities in California and North Carolina said the investigation is ongoing and did not share whether anyone has been arrested in connection with the case.