HAMLET — A call about a larceny led police to find a teen who was reported missing nearly a month ago.
According to the Hamlet Police Department, officers were responding to a call at Family Dollar after a man allegedly stole candy and two cans of Monster Energy.
Officers say they located the suspect, 18-year-old Arahai Turner, along with an unnamed 15-year-old girl at Food Lion.
Turner’s address is listed as “the streets of Rockingham.”
The pair allegedly claimed that they were siblings, but police say they discovered that the girl, from East Rockingham, had been reported missing just before Christmas.
Police say she was returned to the custody of her mother and any charges against her will be filed by the N.C. Department of Public Safety’s Juvenile Justice Section.
Turner is charged with misdemeanor larceny, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and resisting a public officer.
Police say the case is still under investigation and more charges are possible.
Turner was released on an unsecured bond and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 11.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
