ATLANTA — The Ohio teen girl who went missing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport after she left with a man has been found safe, the FBI said Sunday.
According to the FBI, she walked into a local police department late Sunday afternoon and was reunited with her father.
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The FBI said Saturday they were trying to find a missing girl from Ohio who had flown to Atlanta and then left the airport with an unknown man.
The bureau said Emma Danei Linek is believed to be endangered and in need of medication.
The 17-year-old took a Delta Air Lines flight from Cleveland to Atlanta on Tuesday, Sept. 6, according to the FBI. She was last seen on video at the Lindbergh MARTA train station Tuesday night.
The bureau held a press conference Saturday at its Atlanta Field Office.
"She was last seen leaving the airport with an unknown male at approximately 10 a.m. in the North Daily Parking lot at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport," FBI Atlanta Assistant Agent in Charge Christopher Macrae said. "Linek has not been seen since."
Investigators said they have now identified and spoken to that man.
The girl is said to also go by aliases of Azari Holmes, or Zari, stands 5-foot-3, weighs about 160 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes. She has ties to Cleveland, Akron and Twinsburg, Ohio.
“Emma has no known connections in the City of Atlanta and has never been here before," Macrae said.
The teen's father teared up as he spoke about Emma at a press conference Saturday.
“I’m asking for help if you’ve seen Emma or Zari," Mike Linek said.
Mike Linek flew from Cleveland to Atlanta and tearfully pleaded for tips on his daughter's disappearance.
“She’s a wonderful girl, a sweet and bubbly personality. She loves animals. She loves to sing, and we’re anxious to have her back with us," Mike said.
Emma's mother Eleanor Linek said the teen missed her initial flight to Boston, and a Delta agent at the airport in Cleveland helped to book her a new flight. That flight had a layover in Atlanta. Her bags made it to Boston, but she never did.
Her mother says she's staying home in Ohio in case Emma makes her way home.
"I look at my phone all the time, looking through different news feeds, and I always see these things of missing kids and say 'oh, my God. I can't imagine what that family is going through,'" Eleanor said. "Here I am now in that situation."
Emma has clinically-diagnosed autism, according to her family.
The FBI and 11Alive's sister station WKYC in Cleveland provided photos of Emma as well as a surveillance video captured from when she was at the Atlanta airport on Tuesday.
The FBI asks anyone who sees her or has information about her to contact their tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit online to tips.fbi.gov.