MERCEDES ADJUTANT - 16 yo - Wakefield NH

WAKEFIELD — Police are still following up on tips about a local teenager who has been missing since the beginning of October after increased awareness of the case brought in more information about where she might be

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Mercedes Adjutant, 16, of Wakefield was last seen at Spaulding High School on Oct. 5 and is believed to be in the Rochester area, according to Wakefield police.

While Adjutant is technically a missing person, Wakefield Police Lt. Mark O'Brien said police are not concerned about her being in a kidnapping situation, and said it is more likely she is choosing not to come home.

"My biggest concern is that there is a 16-year-old girl out there," O'Brien said last week. "My concern is what kind of group she is hanging out with if she's been hanging out with them for over 30 days. It's probably not the kind of group that a 16-year-old should be hanging out with."

O'Brien hopes getting her name and picture some public attention may alert someone who knows police are looking for her or even pressure her into coming home on her own.

Wakefield police have checked the homes of a number of friends in the area since Adjutant was last seen, but said they do not believe she is in town.

Rochester police have assisted looking for Adjutant since a few days after she went missing, according to Sgt. Jason Thomas.

Rochester police first became involved in the search, Thomas said, when a caller who knew Adjutant and knew she was missing called police saying she was in a vehicle going from Wakefield to Rochester. However, police never had contact with the vehicle and have not had luck finding her since the tip.

Last Friday, O'Brien said that police in both Wakefield and Rochester had received numerous tips about Adjutant's possible whereabouts, but as of Tuesday evening those tips had not yet led to finding her.

Still, O'Brien said police in both towns are still working hard to follow up on the leads.

Adjutant's description is a white female, 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighing about 110 to 120 pounds. She has brown hair and blues eyes.

Anyone with information regarding Adjutant and her whereabouts is asked to call Wakefield Police at (603) 522-3232 or (603) 539-2284.
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WAKEFIELD— A local teenager missing since Oct. 5 was found and brought
back to her family Wednesday night, just in time for Thanksgiving.

According
to Wakefield Police Lt. Mark O'Brien, Mercedes Adjutant, 16, was found
when they received a she might be staying at a residence in Farmington.
Farmington Police found Adjutant there and turned her over to the
Wakefield department, O'Brien said.

Adjutant was missing since
October, when she was last seen leave school at Spaulding High School
and did not return home. While police did not think she was being held
against her will or that she was in danger, O'Brien said last week he
was concerned with whom she may be with and what she may be doing after
she was away from home for nearly two months.

Adjutant was
believed to be staying in Rochester, and Wakefield Police worked with
the Lilac City department to look for her, with Rochester police
searching a number of residences where they believed she might have
been.

Last week, police released Adjutant's picture and
information to the public in an effort to increase more awareness about
her being missing and bring her back to her family.

That publicity for the case paid off, bringing in numerous tips to Wakefield, Rochester, and eventually Farmington police.

According to Farmington police, there was no indication she was in any danger or injured at the time she was picked up.
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