A 15 year-old Hammond girl who went missing Feb. 9 has been found safe.
Taylor LeVan, who didn’t return home after going out with a friend, was found at 31 Elizabeth St. in Hammond, Hammond Police Deprtment Public Information Officer Lt. Richard Hoyda said Thursday. Hammond police officers were searching in the area after receiving information that the juvenile may have been nearby.
Michael Locke, 23, was arrested for maintaining a common nuisance at the same address where the girl was found. A substance believed to be marijuana was found at the residenc, police said.
Locke is currently in police custody, Hoyda said.
Locke could possibly face charges related to the girl’s disappearance even though she’s safe as well, Hoyda said.
“Contributing to the delinquency of a minor might be relevant, especially since she is under 16 and is required to attend schooling,” he said. “It would obviously be up to the Lake County Prosecutor to decide based on the circumstances.”
A spokeswoman with the Lake County Prosecutor’s office said it could make no comment at this time as no charges have been brought yet.
LeVan, a freshman at Munster High School, had driven with a friend to the Wal-Mart in Hammond’s Woodmar section the evening of Feb. 9, her mother, Marcia LeVan said. When she didn’t return home, Marcia LeVan assumed her daughter was spending the night with her friend and contacted her to make sure she got Taylor to school Monday morning.
The friend told LeVan she’d left Taylor at the Wal-Mart on 165th Street around 9:30 p.m. that Sunday because Taylor told the friend “she would walk home.”
LeVan contacted police Monday.