ANNIE McNELLY - 16 yo - Greencastle PA/ TN origin

Authorities are looking for a missing Tennessee teen who may be in the Greencastle area.
According to a news release issued by the Greencastle Police
Department, Annie McNelly, 16, was reported as a runaway at
approximately 11 a.m. Sunday, March 25.


Police said the Tennessee girl
went missing while on a visit in Greencastle.
Police said the girl was believed to be in the area as late as Tuesday, March 27.
McNelly is described as 5 feet 6 inches tall with a medium build. She has blonde hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information should contact Greencastle police at 717-597-2161 or call 911.

http://www.echo-pilot.com/news/x1440918511/Missing-Tennessee-teen-may-be-in-Greencastle-area

nothing new found 4-17-12

COOKEVILLE -- Yesterday, April 28, was Annie McNelly's 17th birthday, and her mother made her favorite cake.

But Annie was not here to celebrate with her family.


She
ran away last month while on a trip to Pennsylvania and has made no
contact with her parents or other family members since then, even though
they and their many friends have reached out in every way they can
think of, hoping to hear from her.

On Friday, her mother, Carra
McNelly, wrote this on a Facebook site that has been set up in the hopes
that the girl will see the many messages there:

"My Precious
Child, tomorrow we will be celebrating your 17th birthday and we'd love
nothing more than for you to fill the empty place at our table. Today
I'm making the chocolate turtle cheesecake you requested several weeks
ago and wrapping your gifts from all of us.

"If you can't make it
home, please call 1-800-Runaway and leave a message for us. They will
call to give us your message, and at least then, we will know you're
safe and alive. I love you so much and will never give up searching." --
Mom

It was March 25 when Annie McNelly traveled to Greencastle,
Pennsylvania, with a group from the Teen Challenge program she was
attending. The group was to take part in a church activity there.

When
the group arrived, Annie got out of the vehicle and "just took off
running," witnesses later told police. She hasn't been seen since and
police in that area, after investigating and searching, now say they
don't believe she is still in that area.

She had appeared to be
doing well in the Teen Challenge program, and her decision to run away
was a shock to her family and many friends here.

Since that time,
her parents have traveled to Pennsylvania, hoping to find clues. She is
also now registered with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children,
and that puts her story out to police agencies and the public
nationwide.

"A friend of ours initiated an advertising campaign
on Facebook which has the potential of reaching millions, and we also
set up the Annie McNelly Runaway/Missing Facebook page that now has over
5,800 members," her mother said.

There is also a web page which can be accessed at anniemcnelly.com/ come-home, the mother said.

"We've
had an outpouring of support from our church, Covenant Church of
Cookeville, First Baptist Church of Cookeville, family, friends, and
people we've never met, and we could never get through this without our
faith in God and the prayers spoken in our behalf as well as Annie's,"
she said.

Anyone who has any information about Annie McNelly is
asked to contact a police agency. In Greencastle, Pennsylvania, the
Police Department number is (717) 597-2161. To contact the Cookeville
Police, call 931-526-2125.


Read more: Herald Citizen - Cookeville teen still missing on her 17th birthday

Community prayers answered as McNelly returns home

by Mary Jo Denton
21 hrs ago

COOKEVILLE -- Annie McNelly is home now, safe and sound, and the many Cookevillians and others who have prayed for her and her family are reaching out to her with love and reassurance.

The 17-year-old daughter of Carra and Mike McNelly of Cookeville ran away while on a trip to Pennsylvania back in March and had made no contact with her family until this past weekend.

Police in Pennsylvania investigated the case and searched for her, but did not find her.

As the weeks wore on with no word of the girl's whereabouts, family and friends, as well as many who do not even know her posted messages of love and concern to her on a Facebook page, encouraging her to come home or to at least phone someone and let her family know she was safe.

According to her mother, Annie came home on her own after reading some of the Facebook posts.

She got in touch with one of those who had posted a message to her and that person met with the girl and accompanied her to turn herself in as a runaway, her mother said.

"We're rejoicing to know she's safe and sound," Carra McNelly said today.

While Annie must now be processed through the Juvenile Court system, just having her back in her hometown and in contact with her family is a tremendous relief to the family and their many friends.

Friends and others who heard about the case filled that "Annie McNelly Runaway/Missing" Facebook page with loving messages of support over the past two months.

Many offered her information on how to contact their own relatives in other parts of the country, many related to Annie their own stories of difficulties in their teen years, and many offered prayers for her safe return.

Her own family members also posted on that page, detailing their love for her and their pain over losing touch with her.

Then, when word spread on Saturday that Annie had returned to Cookeville and was safe, the many people following the case began posting messages of thanksgiving and rejoicing at the news. And again, they pledged their love and support to the girl.

What comes next is uncertain, as the Juvenile Court must handle the case first, but everyone is happy to know that Annie McNelly is back in Cookeville and that she came home by her own choice.

Read more: http://www.herald-citizen.com/view/full_story/18850154/article-Community-prayers-answered-as-McNelly-returns-home?instance=homefirstleft