PD: Mesa teen found in California after stealing mom's car, leaving home with 19-year-old

A 13-year-old Mesa girl who ran away from home with a convicted sex offender late Tuesday was located in California Thursday afternoon, according to officials.

Mesa Police Department spokesman Ed Wessing said Alyssa Cavagnaro and 19-year-old Gary LeGault were involved in a single vehicle rollover collision on Highway 1 in Monterey, California around 3 p.m. The pair reportedly fled the scene on foot into a wooded area.

"Thank God, yes, thank you to everybody," said Alyssa's mother, Crystal Cavagnaro. "She's (Alyssa) okay and I'm glad."

After about an hour of searching, California Highway Patrol officers were able to locate Cavagnaro and LeGault and they were taken into custody without incident.

"They were hiding in poison ivy after flipping the car," said Crystal Cavagnaro.

Police had asked for the public's help to locate Cavagnaro, who went missing from her home near Guadalupe and Extension roads around 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Investigators said the teen stole her mother's vehicle and debit card and left her home with Legault, who is currently on probation for a prior sex offense with a minor.

The 13-year-old's mom told ABC15 her daughter and LeGault were being booked into jail, but didn't elaborate on the charges.

"She's going to have to suffer her consequences for it," said Crystal Cavagnaro. "I can't stop the law from what they want to do and what they have to do."

Wessing said Cavagnaro and Legault were not injured in the wreck. They both are being held until they can be transported back to Arizona.

Cavagnaro said her daughter had been seeing the 19-year-old for about a month.