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Florida Family Begs for Girl's Return

Posted on: Friday, 25 February 2005, 15:00 CST

HOMOSASSA, Fla. - The family of a missing 9-year-old girl who disappeared from her bedroom pleaded for her return Friday, calling her an "angel" who needs to be home. The father and grandparents of Jessica Marie Lunsford cried as they described a girl who they say would never run away.

"I want my daughter home," said Mark Lunsford, who discovered the third-grader missing Thursday morning. "If there is anything anybody knows, there are a lot of numbers you can call. Help me find my daughter and bring her home."

Jessica lives in the house with her father and his parents. Her father told authorities he had returned Thursday morning from a girlfriend's home and was getting ready for work when he realized his daughter's alarm clock was sounding and she wasn't there.

The clothes she had laid out for school were still in place and none of her shoes were gone.

Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy said Lunsford's story checked out. A search for the girl continued Friday; a national missing child alert was issued.

Jessica's grandmother Ruth Lunsford said the girl is a well-mannered child "who doesn't roam." She had attended church Wednesday night and had asked her grandmother to tuck her in when she was ready for bed.

"When God made Jessie, he made an angel," her grandmother said. "We have always called her Princess."

Dawsy said the girl's mother, Angie Lunsford, had been located in Ohio and was being interviewed by the FBI. He gave no details. Mark Lunsford said his daughter had had little contact with her mother.

Officials stopped short of putting out an Amber Alert. Florida's Amber Plan is activated when there is a detailed vehicle or abductor description to disseminate through broadcasters and highway information signs.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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