Girl missing for more than a year returns home to Jackson Co.

JACKSON COUNTY - After missing for more than a year, a juvenile from Jackson County has been found safe in Maryland.

Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum announced in a Thursday press release that Gallilea Magana had been returned to her family in Jackson County after she was interviewed by authorities.

At one point, the girl was believed to have been abducted, according to the release. She had been missing since December 2011.

Magana was spotted in the Baltimore area, according to the sheriff, and then she was located by authorities. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office said it worked closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in their investigation.

"The hard work of law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led to the safe return of this child to a family who had exhausted all hope of their child ever being located and the child being safely returned to them," said Mangum.

Investigators in Baltimore continue their work on the case to see if criminal charges might be brought.

Authorities did not release any information about a specific location Magana was found, nor did they say with whom she had been living over the past year.