Police said Thursday that a 13-year-old Providence girl who was briefly the subject of an Amber Alert had run away from home.
The cousin of 13-year-old Joyce Liberty apologized for what happened Wednesday night, when the teen apparently pulled a fast one on her family and police.
"She just took it to a level that she wasn't supposed to. I just think that she took it a little too far," Troy Cable said.
Liberty was found unharmed at Providence Place about 90 minutes after state police issued an Amber Alert. Two teenage boys were with her.
She was returned to her foster family.
Liberty was reported missing from her Providence home on Tuesday and her family started getting graphic text messages from her cell phone. The messages said she was tied up and that she'd be killed and cut into pieces.
Police said the text messages elevated the case to an Amber Alert.
"It did. It probably was a borderline case, but we felt with an abundance of caution for her safety, we felt it was best to issue the Amber Alert," Rhode Island State Police Capt. Frank Castellone said.
Before Wednesday, only three Amber Alerts had been issued in the state over the past seven years. They take time, resources and money, leaving many outraged about Liberty's alleged joke.
Providence police said they will not charge Liberty with a crime. She's run away from home before and police said she's going to get help and counseling instead of punishment.
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