PHOENIX — A Valley father is speaking with ABC15 after his daughter, who had been missing for months, was found at a Phoenix home. The 15-year-old girl was found on July 9 after she was reported missing back in March.
ABC15 is not identifying the girl or her dad because the teen may be a possible crime victim.
"For the parents that have gone through it or are going through it, just keep up the fight," said the teen's dad. "Don't give up."
The girl was found just miles from her home after a tip led the US Marshals to the area near 16th and Roosevelt streets.
Federal court documents say deputies spotted the missing teen on a porch with multiple men.
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Those deputies waited until the teen walked away from the house to try and make contact with her. When they tried, records say one of the men Miguel Mendez-Vargas, 31, allegedly “swung” and "spit" at a deputy.
ABC15 was told by the US Marshals Service that Mendez-Vargas and another man were taken into custody for allegedly being in the country illegally.
The teen was taken to receive care at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Her dad says he has been able to speak with her.
"It was incredibly emotional," said advocate Leila Woodard. "Her father reached out to me, and I instantly started crying too."
She is the founder of the Arizona Missing Child Task Force and has been helping the family look for the teen for months.
Woodard told ABC15 they received the tip and reported it to authorities.
"It's exactly what we worked so hard every day to do is to find these children," said Woodard. "And we acted so promptly and took it very seriously."
Right now, Mendez-Vargas is only facing charges for assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer.
A press release received by the USMS, along with federal court documents, said agencies are investigating Mendez-Vargas for other crimes.
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