Latest reports on Rebecca Arthur say that the 17-year old girl, after being reported as missing on Wednesday night, was finally found safe by authorities.
Arthur was located on Friday at around 3 a.m. by Moroccan police in cooperation with the investigation by the FBI and Homeland Security. She was seen in the company of Simo El Adala, who authorities suspect was the man she met on Facebook and eventually became her boyfriend.
Arthur took an international flight on Monday, July 6 at JFK Airport after she was dropped off by her parents. The girl allegedly told her parents that she was going to visit a friend in California.
She arrived in Morocco on Tuesday, July 7. Her parents never heard anything from her since she left, which prompted them to contact the police and report her as missing.
According to the police, Arthur flew to Morocco in order to meet her boyfriend. Her parents were completely unaware of her plans to travel all by herself to the North African country. They also didn't know about her alleged relationship with the man on Facebook.
"The daughter had no intent of going to California," said Sgt. Jeremiah Dunn, spokesman for Clinton Police. "We don't know what her motive was, why she flew to Morocco."
Detectives suspected that Arthur had planned to meet up with her friend from Facebook, who carries the name Simo El Adala.
"We don't even know if this is a real person," said Dunn.
Both Arthur's and El Adala's Facebook pages claim that they have been in a relationship since February of this year. Each has placed the other's picture as a cover photo on their Facebook pages. In one of Arthur's posted images, someone placed a comment asking who the man was. She replied, "he's my bf tehehe loll."
Authorities believe that El Adala must have paid for Arthur's plane ticket, which cost nothing less than $1,000. Arthur was said to have $25 in her pocket when she traveled on Monday.
On that day, she was reported as wearing black yoga pants and a black sleeveless shirt with Nike sneakers in hues of pink, white and blue. She was also seen with a red suitcase.
Authorities were concerned that Arthur went to a country that has been listed as a dangerous destination for Americans. Based on the State Department's website, Morocco has the potential of committing terrorist violence against citizens of the U.S. and its interests.
