Valley Teen Who Disappeared Walking To 7-Eleven Found Safe

Los Angeles CA

23 August, 2021

12:20 PM

Description

SAN FERNANDO, CA — A missing 14-year-old San Fernando girl was found safe Sunday night following an exhaustive search. The disappearance of Destiny Isabella Mercado triggered widespread alarm Saturday when she disappeared while walking to a convenience store, and a witness subsequently saw her cellphone thrown out of the back of a sedan. However, police now say Marcado was not in danger. According to the San Fernando Police Department, the teen was found in Santa Clarita on her way to visit an ex-boyfriend whom she was forbidden from seeing. Mercado tried to contact her ex-boyfriend Sunday night, and the his sister convinced the teen to meet her, said San Fernando police Lt. Irwin Rosenberg. When Mercado showed up, police and sheriff's deputies were waiting for her. The ordeal for the Mercado family began Saturday afternoon when the teen texted her mother at 1:10 p.m. Saturday asking permission to go from their home in the 1900 block of Chivers Street to the 7-Eleven store at Hubbard Street and Borden Avenue, according to police. A short time later, her phone was found at 1:40 p.m. in the area of Hubbard Street and Glenoaks Boulevard by someone who said it was thrown from the right rear passenger seat of a moving vehicle described as a light gray or silver Mazda, Rosenberg said. The suspicious circumstances of Mercado's disappearance triggered widespread media coverage and an extensive search by her family and authorities. Mercado admitted she left home voluntarily with "some male subjects," and that she threw her own cell phone out of the car to avoid being tracked Rosenberg told City News Service.. The extensive media attention focused on the search made a difference. "I think she'd still be outstanding if not for the publicity," he said. City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.