By Staff
From Staff Reports
Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith announced this week that Brittany Priscilla Powers, who has been missing for a week, contacted her father and told him she was fine.
Smith said that the girl's father came into the sheriff's office and said that he had talked to his daughter on the phone.
"She said she was fine and she was with the boyfriend…and she wasn't going home," Smith said.
Smith said that the teen had been found in Minnesota, through an Interstate Compact for Juveniles. The system allows authorities all over the country to track and communicate information about juveniles. Smith said that the system has been a "big help to them in this situation and to others."
Smith said that she had gone up there with her 23-year-old boyfriend, Michael Skiba. Officials were making arrangements to bring her back home.
Brittany Powers is a student at W.S. Neal High School, and her grandmother is an Atmore resident. She and her father live in Castleberry.
Earlier in the week, Powers said that his 16-year-old daughter was last heard from and seen as she was getting ready to head to work at the Brewton McDonalds. Powers said that his daughter had left home without clothes, but money was missing from a home safe and her car was missing.
Smith said that the authorities picked Powers and her boyfriend up and recovered part of the money had been taken from the home safe. The girl admitted to authorities that she had taken the money and her boyfriend had nothing to do with it, Smith said.
Smith said that the girl's father wanted to bring charges against her boyfriend with interference of custody.
"We have taken that under advisement with the D.A. and the D.A. wants more facts before he allows us to move forward," Smith said.
On Thursday, Smith said that the boyfriend will "probably" be charged in Conecuh County.