Lia Seely, reported missing after leaving her mother’s Yates Center home more than a month ago, has been located.
The Yates Center Police Department announced in a Facebook post Friday that Seely, 16, had been found by the Pittsburg Police Department in Pittsburg.
Yates Center Assistant Police Chief Vinson Baker declined to release any additional information about Seely’s condition or the circumstances surrounding how she was found, citing an ongoing criminal investigation.
Seely’s family had offered a $10,000 reward earlier this month for information leading to Seely’s return, and when they received no solid leads, upped the reward last week to $20,000.
Assisting the YCPD with the investigation were the Parsons Police Department, Pittsburg Police Department, Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Woodson County Sheriff’s Office and the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office.
IN A RELATED matter, Jesse J. Graninger and Holly A. Lewis, both of Parsons, have been charged with their role in Seely’s disappearance.
Both were charged in Woodson County District Court with conspiracy to commit aggravated interference with parental custody and contributing to a child’s misconduct.
According to the criminal charges, Graninger made arrangements for Lewis to pick up Seely from her mother’s home the evening of March 1 and take her to Parsons.
Both are slated to appear in Woodson County Magistrate Court on May 4.
