Police: Missing Florida Twins Thought Bound For NYC Found Safe
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police in Florida say twin 12-year-old girls who disappeared from their father's home and were thought to be bound for their mother's home in Harlem have been found.
Coral Spring police said Friday that the twins, Rickhia and Nicolette McLam, were found around midnight at their godmother's home in Pompano Beach.
"We thank the community and our outstanding detectives who worked tirelessly to locate the girls," the department said on its Facebook page. No other details were provided.
The twins live with their father in Coral Springs, but had been missing since Tuesday. The girls' mother lives in Harlem and police had been trying to determine whether the sisters might have been trying make their way to New York.
Police said they left a handwritten note saying that their father had unrealistic standards, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported. They took clothes, cash and iPods, but no cell phone.
"You know your dad loves you more than anything in the world and I would do nothing to harm you all," their father, Rickey McLam, said at a news conference before the girls were found.
Police say the relationship between the girls' parents has been contentious and that their mother had recently been in Florida, where she saw the twins. Investigators believe this may have been a custody issue and that the sisters were with other family members.
"We believe that they are being concealed from us intentionally, but at this point, I don't have anything to back that up except for speculation and some interviews," said Coral Springs Det. Sgt. William Reed.
Police said they spoke with the girls' mother in Harlem and she claims they had no involvement in their running away, Burrel reported. Police said Friday that the investigation is ongoing.
