Arizona girl missing since 1994 wasn't kidnapped and didn't want to be found, official says

U.S. newsArizona girl missing since 1994 wasn't kidnapped and didn't want to be found, official saysChristina Marie Plante, who was 13 when she vanished, told the deputy who tracked her down 'that was an old life.'Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Christina Marie Plante.Gila County Sheriff's OfficeShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 3, 2026, 3:26 PM EDTBy Corky SiemaszkoA woman who disappeared nearly 32 years ago — when she was just 13 and living in Arizona — has told investigators she wasn’t abducted. She ran away.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Christina Marie Plante, now 44 and living under a different name, told a cold case investigator from the Gila County Sheriff's Office that family members helped her leave. "This was information we had not been aware of before we located her," Chief Deputy James Lahti told NBC News on Friday. "Up until then, we didn't know where she was and we were under the impression she had been kidnapped."But Terry Hudgens, a former Gila County sheriff’s deputy who initially investigated the disappearance of the young teenager who went by "Tina," said in an interview Thursday that he was mystified by all the sudden interest in this case — because, he said, it was resolved shortly after the girl was reported missing. Hudgens said Plante's father had custody of her but that she wanted to live with her mother. So they arranged to meet while Plante was walking to a nearby stable to tend to her horse, he said. The mother and daughter then drove to the airport in Phoenix and flew out of state — “and maybe out of the country,” he said.Hudgens said they dropped their investigation after determining that Plante was safe. "It was a custody battle," he said.Lahti confirmed Hudgens led the initial search for Plante but said the case was never officially closed. He also confirmed that Plante told them certain family members helped her disappear...