QUILCENE — Bailey Scott called for her father to pick her up from Portland, Ore., on Monday night, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Detective Joe Nole spoke to Bailey — the 16-year-old girl from Quilcene who had been missing since Feb. 2 — on Tuesday morning and said “she was pretty upset,” but she is safe.
“There’s no indication of force, kidnapping or luring,” he said, adding he still doesn’t know the details of how Scott made it to Oregon. “No one made her do anything against her will.”
Nole said Bailey’s mother, who lives in California, contacted the Sheriff’s Office at about 9:30 p.m. Monday to inform investigators her daughter was safe.
“I think everybody is relieved,” Nole said. “There’s still some unanswered questions, but she’s safe and that’s our main goal.”
Nole said he plans to follow up with Bailey in the coming days, but as far as he is aware nothing criminal happened. He doesn’t anticipate any criminal charges against anyone, he said.
Bailey was found only a day after her aunt, Roxann Anderson, pleaded to the community for more information on her missing niece and community members pledged $5,000 toward a reward they hoped would bring her home.
Anderson said Monday night she didn’t yet know the details of what happened to Bailey, but that she knew she was safe with her father.
She was unable to be reached by phone Tuesday.
Justin Lake, an enrichment coordinator at Quilcene School who helped organize the rally for Bailey on Sunday, said “everybody feels a great sense of relief at the school. We’re just happy that she’s safe.”
He said he didn’t know if the rally influenced Bailey’s decision to call her father, but he said the event brought the community together.
“It sent a statement to Bailey and all our youth here that when something goes wrong, we come together,” he said. “We’re all thrilled here at the school and eager to welcome her back.”
Bailey had been missing since the night of Feb. 2. She left a note that said she would be away for the night, but did not return home to her aunt and had not shown up to school.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
