JESSICA M POWERS - 17 yo - Ocklawaha FL

Marion County Sheriff’s Office
detectives and patrol units are working to find 17 year-old Jessica M.
Powers who has been missing since 5 a.m., Thursday, February 11, 2010
from her home at 8 Fisher Pass, Ocklawaha.

Jessica was last seen
wearing blue jeans and a brown jacket. The photo shows
Jessica’s black shoulder length hair, brown eyes and she stands about 5
foot 8 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. Jessica’s family
realized she was gone from her room around 5 a.m. this morning. A quick
check of her cell phone indicated she was to meet a boyfriend around 1
a.m. this morning. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office
interviewed the boyfriend, who said “yes” he was to pick-up Jessica,
but “chickened out” and does not know of Jessica’s whereabouts. Marion
County Sheriff’s Office helicopter and K-9 teams have been used in the
search. Lowell Correctional Officers took part in the search by using
Bloodhounds to track the area. If you see Jessica, call the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at (352) 732-9111.

An Ocklawaha teenager reported missing by her stepfather Thursday
morning was found safe hours later in Putnam County after an all-out
search, according to sheriff's officials.
Jessica M. Powers was found by Marion and Putnam County sheriff's
authorities at the home of her 21-year-old boyfriend, Stephen Cassidy,
at 213 Acacia Drive in Putnam County.The 17-year-old girl was
found behind a false wall near the fireplace sometime after 7 p.m.
after the young man's father told officials where they could find her,
authorities said.Cassidy was charged with interference with
child custody and taken to the Putnam County Jail. In an interview with
authorities, Cassidy said he drove to Ocklawaha where the girl lives,
picked her up and took her to Putnam County, where she stayed with him,
officials said.When Jessica was reported missing by her
stepfather -- who found her phone in her bedroom with several text
messages between her and her Cassidy saying he would pick her up in
front of her home shortly after midnight -- Putnam officials went to
Cassidy's home to interview him, officials said.Initially,
Cassidy told authorities that he was supposed to pick Jessica up in
Ocklawaha but had “chickened out,” a Marion County Sheriff's Office
report noted. He later told authorities he did not know where Jessica
was.Jessica's stepfather had told a Marion County deputy that
when he entered his stepdaughter's room around 5 a.m. Thursday, she was
missing. Her window was open, and the screen was leaning against the
side of the home, he told authorities.