Missing woman found 5 years later hiding under fake name

A North Carolina woman who mysteriously vanished in 2011 has been found safe and living under a fake name in Columbus, Ohio.

The last time Rachel Natacha Owens was seen, she was only 15 years old.

The Wilmington Star News reports that she was last spotted getting off a school bus and into a vehicle in the parking lot of South Brunswick High School in Boiling Spring Lakes.

This wasn't the first time Owens disappeared. The New York Daily News reports that she had previously run away for brief periods.

For five years, her parents and five siblings did not hear a word from her.

Finally, in 2014, FBI agents told New York Daily News they received a tip that Owens might be in Columbus.

That's exactly where they found her around noon Friday, according to Brunswick County Sheriff's Office.

Star News reports that Owens, who is now 21 years old, was previously believed to be with a much older man.

Police said in a press release that she actually left North Carolina of her own accord, and "went to great lengths to intentionally conceal her whereabouts, even assuming a false identity and date of birth."

FBI Special Agent Rich Novelli told New York Daily News that this is good news.

"Some people assumed you are never going to find her because ... you're chasing a ghost," he said. "Thankfully none of us gave up."

There is no information about whether or not she will be reunited with her family.

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