SHELBY WENGARD - 14 yo - Perry (Lakeshore/NE of Cleveland) OH

Perry OH ---- No solid leads have emerged as personnel from the Perry Township police
and fire departments continue searching for a missing teenage girl.

Shelby Wengard, 14, has been missing since 3 p.m. Wednesday when she
walked away from a friend’s house near 15th Street and Perry Drive
Southwest, according to police. Wengard lives nearby at a residence in
the 4900 block of 14th St. S.W.

Wengard, a Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities student, is
about 5-foot-tall and weighs around 115 pounds. She has brown hair and
brown eyes.
Wengard was wearing a blue sweater over a red shirt, black sweat pants,
sneakers and glasses.
Police do not suspect any foul play.
“We have confirmation from several people that she ran away,” said
Deputy Police Chief Brian Carbenia.
Carbenia said officers are searching near her residence as well as
areas throughout the township, including parks and railroad tracks that
parallel Southway Street Southwest.
"We are looking in remote areas where people on foot can’t access,"
Carbenia said. “... She might stay close, but we’re not taking any
chances.”
Carbenia said other area law enforcement agencies have been notified,
but Wingard’s disappearance does not meet the criteria required to issue
an Amber alert.

Anyone with information should contact Perry Township Police at
330-478-5121.

A 14-year-old special needs teen that vanished from her
neighborhood in Perry Township two days ago, has been found alive.

Police say Shelby Wengerd was found shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday
evening less than a quarter-mile from her home.

She is being medically evaluated but is doing well, according to
authorities.

Investigators said it is "too soon"
to find out circumstances surrounding her disappearance.

Earlier on Friday, FBI agents joined the investigation with local
police, Ohio Highway Patrol Troopers, officials with the Stark County
Fugitive Task Force, and the Adult Parole Authority and outside law
enforcement agencies to assist with the search.

Volunteers and friends all around Perry Township and extending out to
other parts of Stark and Summit Counties, were distributing fliers with
Shelby's photo for the past few days.
Her father said that he had been in agony,
worried for her well-being. He also said his daughter functions on the
level of an 8-year-old. "Instead of worrying about cell phones and boys
she would rather come home and draw pictures," Shelby's father said.

The family is overwhelmed by the outpouring of help from authorities and
from complete strangers.

"Its unbelievably heartwarming to know that there are this many people
out there that are reaching out to reach out and to donate their time."
Shelby's father said.

Authorities say a township girl who went missing last week was not aided
by anyone.
Property owners were unaware that Shelby Wengerd, 14, had locked
herself inside a storage shed in the 4900 block of 15th Street SW,
Deputy Police Chief Brian Carbenia said Monday.
Wengerd was discovered in the shed, about a block from her residence,
Friday night following a massive two-day search. More than 3,000 missing
person fliers were distributed throughout the area.
The search was initiated after Wengerd, a special needs student at
Edison Junior High School, walked away from a friend’s house next door
to the storage barn about 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Wengerd was found when she emerged from the shed and asked the friend
for food. The girl told her father she had seen Wengerd, and he then
reported her whereabouts to police, according to Carbenia.
“We spoke with the entire family who located her as well as neighbors.
We interviewed all parties and there is no reason to suspect she was
being harbored there,” Carbenia said.
Food found near and inside the storage barn was given to the girl after
she was discovered. Wengerd was evaluated by Perry Township paramedics,
but was not injured.
During the search, authorities believed Wengerd had not wandered far,
Carbenia said.
“We suspected heavily that she was still in the area. That’s why we
continued to canvass the neighborhood,” he said.
Police have said Wengerd may have run away because she was fearful of
further trouble.
Wengerd was sentenced to probation last month after appearing in Stark
County Family Court.
At this point, police are wrapping up their investigation.
“There were a significant amount of interviews that were done that will
take time to document,” Carbenia said.