Missing Houston girl E'minie Hughes found safe, man arrested in connection to disappearance

A 27-year-old man is in police custody on suspicion of his alleged involvement in the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl who went missing from her Houston home a week ago.

Sirterryon Preston was detained by the police department in Columbus, Texas on Friday March 1st after the department became aware that missing girl E'minie Hughes, who an Amber Alert was issued for on Feb. 28, could be in Columbus city limits, according to a Facebook post shared by the police department.

When police attempted to take Preston into custody, he tried fleeing on foot, but was ultimately captured and arrested, the post said.

For now, Preston is in Colorado County jail and charged with evading, police said. More charges could be forthcoming as the FBI's investigation into the girl's disappearance continues, according to the Facebook post.

In an X post shared Friday, FBI Houston said it is "proud to have helped rescue yet another missing child."

The missing girl was brought back to Houston and taken to a hospital, a Houston police spokesperson told USA TODAY.

"Physically she appeared to be fine," the spokesperson said about E'minie's condition.

Missing children:If your missing child ran away from home, the police may not look for them.

E'minie Hughes found 'unharmed' in Columbus, TX

E'minie had been missing since Feb. 22, according to the Texas Center for the Missing.

Houston police said that Hughes was "found unharmed in Columbus, (Texas) a short time ago." The department did not offer any more info due to the ongoing investigation.

"We are determining why (Preston) was with (E'minie)," the Houston police spokesperson told USA TODAY.

Police believe E'minie's disappearance could be tied to social media app

Before being found, Houston police said E'minie may have been active on a social media app known as "Tagged." According to Apple's App Store, "Tagged" is a dating app with around 300 million users for people 17 and older.

"Millions of people are having fun and making new friends on Tagged every day," the app's website reads. "You can too!"

The Meet Group, the parent company of "Tagged", told USA Today that it "proactively reached out" to Houston police to offer any assistance with the case as soon as it became aware of the situation.

"We were deeply saddened to learn the news of E'minie’s disappearance, and are relieved by her safe return," the company said. "Nothing is more important to us than the safety and wellbeing of the community on our platforms every day."

The company also said its "terms and conditions prohibit minors from using" its apps and utilizes "technology and manual analysis" to check for minors who have registered using a false age.

"Should we be made aware of any attempts to circumvent our process, we thoroughly investigate any report involving a possible minor user or child exploitation," the company said. "We invest significantly in these efforts, and while we know that sadly there is no way to make this process completely infallible, we are continuously evolving to stay at the forefront of best-in-class safety practices."

Although Houston police believe the young girl may have been using "Tagged", they have not yet released details on how it's connected to the case.

'Very heartbreaking': E'minie's mother spoke out on disappearance before girl was found

E'minie was last seen getting into a dark-colored 4-door Dodge pickup wearing a white crop top and pink joggers, the Texas Center for the Missing said.

E'minie's mother, Shannon Williams, told KPRC on Feb. 27 that she hadn't seen her daughter since Thursday night before bed. When Williams woke up Friday morning, E'minie was gone, the mother said.

“I haven’t ate anything. I haven’t been to sleep. Everybody’s been pacing back and forth because this is not like her,” Williams said.

Williams told the TV station some of E'minie's clothes and her Android tablet were also missing.

Williams doesn't know if her daughter was talking to someone online, KPRC reported. E'minie stepped out of the family's home for a walk hours before her disappearance, according to her mother.

The mother and daughter's last conversation consisted of E'minie asking Williams to wake her up early for school that Friday, KHOU reported.

“Not knowing where she is, what’s going on with her, if she’s OK, if she’s harmed if she’s alive, very heartbreaking,” Williams told KHOU on Feb. 28.

Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected].