An investigator has shared new details about how a woman, missing for more than 30 years, was finally located.
Christina Marie Plante was recently found alive, decades after she disappeared at age 13. She was last seen on May 15, 1994, in Payson, Arizona.
Authorities said Christina, now 44, “vanished without a trace” and that the situation was considered “under suspicious circumstances,” leading investigators to classify her as “endangered.”
At the time, she was believed to be walking toward the stables where her horse was kept when she disappeared.
Investigators conducted interviews and pursued leads, but as tips slowed and evidence failed to develop, the case eventually went cold. Christina’s name remained on missing persons lists for years.
In the end, officials say the story was different from what they had long suspected.
“I was dumbfounded,” said Captain Jamie Garrett in an interview with NewsNation on Thursday (April 2).
Christina was located 32 years after she vanished, and on April 1, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office publicly confirmed she had been found.
While the sheriff’s office said it would not share additional personal details to respect Christina’s privacy, Garrett later described what she learned during the process of confirming Christina’s identity.
Garrett alleged Christina had intentionally left with assistance from other family members.
“I guess she wasn’t happy with where she was living and who she was living with and she ran away,” she claimed. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. Okay, so you ran away.’ I told her … ‘You know, we were under the impression that somebody kidnapped you. It was deemed a criminal offense.’”
Garrett, who said she was the investigator who made contact to verify Christina’s identity, added:
“She said that was a long time ago, that was an old life.”
Garrett also addressed whether Christina still reflects on the relatives she left behind.
“She’s in her adult life. She has her family now. That’s not something she even thinks about.”
The Gila County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit previously said that newer technology helped investigators identify Christina, and the agency shared the update in a Facebook post.
“Investigators have confirmed her identity, and her status as a missing person has been officially resolved,” the Gila County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff’s office added that it remains focused on reopening cold cases to provide long-awaited answers for families and communities, and encouraged anyone with information related to other investigations to reach out.