The U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit successfully located a critically endangered 14-year-old girl, after she was reported missing 17 months ago, The Detroit Free Press reported.

In September of 2021, a middle schooler was reported missing in St. Clair County, Michigan. More than a year later, the girl was found inside of a closet in a home in Port Huron, on a tip that she had been sexually trafficked. Initially, the homeowners denied that she was there, but after receiving a search warrant, the missing teen was found.

“Information was that she may be being trafficked. There was some evidence of sexual abuse,” said Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Watson. “She’d been missing since September 2021, so I got the case (Tuesday), began working on it immediately, and we recovered her about 5:30 that same day.”

The teenager told police that she had been in the house for one night, and had previously been “bouncing around” between different locations in Port Huron and Detroit. She was then taken to a nearby hospital, where it was discovered she was pregnant. “She was crying, ”Watson said. “She didn’t know where she was going to go. She was pretty terrified. And she was afraid of losing her baby.”

Authorities are now pursuing parental kidnapping charges against the girl’s biological mother, who lost custody of her daughter to the teen’s father. After being seen by medical professionals, the girl has been reunited with him.

After announcing the missing girl was found, Watson became emotional and explained how locating missing children is one of the most rewarding parts of his job. “Sometimes I break down in tears when I find these kids, because it means a lot,” he said. “I’m a parent myself, and I can’t imagine if I were in one of these folks’ shoes, and I didn’t know where my kids were.”