DENVER – The Denver Police Department said Tuesday that a 16-year-old girl missing since Jan. 4 has been found safe with an acquaintance outside of the metro area and would be reunited with her family.
Authorities and the family of Whitney Lulloff, 16, had been trying to find the girl since she walked out of the Denver International Airport last Monday after returning from Phoenix but never met with her family in Douglas County.
A spokesperson for the Denver Police Department said surveillance video shows Whitney arrived at Denver International Airport that day and then took the light rail to the 61st and Pena stop.
Lulloff's mother, Karen Kopp, said in a previous interview with Denver7 that she believed her daughter was with another person.
On Monday, DPD investigators said they believe that Lulloff is "voluntarily refusing to return home."
Denver police said Tuesday that she was with “a known acquaintance” outside of the Denver metro area and that the “circumstances do not support any cause for concern of human trafficking or her safety.”
DPD said officers were working with law enforcement in the jurisdiction in which Lulloff was found – information that was not released by police – to reunite her with her family.
DPD said it considers the investigation closed and said no further information would be provided.