Va. teen missing for a week found unharmed

WASHINGTON — A diabetic teenager who had been missing for about a week was found safe and unharmed in Harrisonburg, Virginia, police said in a statement Thursday.

Makayla Mattei, 15, was found with Meiti Metsla, 21, who authorities believe traveled from Estonia to be with Mattei.

Metsla was arrested and charged with using a communication device to solicit certain offenses involving children.

Detectives learned of inappropriate online conversations between Mattei and Metsla during the investigation into her disappearance.

(Courtesy FBI)
Meiti Metsla, left, is an Estonian national who was traveling with 15-year-old Makayla Mattei, right, who had been missing from her Dumfries home since Feb. 17. (Courtesy FBI)

Mattei’s family had contacted authorities last week when the teen vanished from outside her Prince William County home.

“We reviewed the case and we realized, due to her medical condition, that she should be upgraded to endangered status,” said Prince William County Police Sgt. Jonathan Perok. “That is when we started to push out, on social media and other avenues, to try and locate her.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children helped with the case.

Police believe Mattei left voluntarily with Metsla.

Teta Alim

Teta Alim is a Digital Editor at WTOP. Teta's interest in journalism started in music and moved to digital media.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

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