The 17-year-old female who has not been seen since leaving a family residence in Benwood on Christmas Eve no longer is listed as “missing,” according to Police Chief Frank Longwell.
Sara Jo Harvey, Longwell explain, was visiting home for the Christmas holiday when she failed to return to the residence where she was staying. Longwell said initially his department believed she was staying in the South Wheeling area, but recently reports have been received she has been spotted in the East Wheeling neighborhood. Someone who knows her saw going in and out of a house in that neighborhood.
Harvey is 5-5 feet tall and weighs about 130 pounds. Longwell said she has brown eyes and “dirty blonde” hair. The chief said she was wearing jeans and was carrying a backpack.
“Paperwork has been filed by the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office that, if and when she is found, she will go straight to a juvenile detention facility in the area,” Longwell said. “So, she is no longer missing as far as law enforcement is concerned. Now, she is a wanted individual.
“So, now there is an active pickup order for her and all law enforcement agencies in the area have been informed of the change,” the police chief explained. “There’s really not much we can do at this point unless someone gives us a positive ID on her or if another agency picks her up.”
Longwell said Harvey has been known to him and his department for several years because of the juvenile’s past illegal activity within and outside Benwood.
“I know a lot of people have tried to reach her for all the right reasons, but from what we can tell from this situation, that hasn’t taken place to this point,” he said. “I know the family had some hope when she came for the holidays, and I feel for them that it turned into this situation.”
