Casey Lasure Found In New Martinsville
Casey Lasure, the 16-year-old New Martinsville girl who has been missing since late Friday night or very early Saturday morning, was found in a New Martinsville residence early this afternoon.
Wetzel County Sheriff James Hoskins said, “She is safe and appears to be unharmed. We don’t believe she was being held against her will.”
However, the investigation into the matter is ongoing and there could still be charges brought in the case. Hoskins does not think any of those would be against Lasure, a sophomore at Magnolia High School. “I’m just glad she’s home,” he said.
Lasure is assumed to have run away from her home on Doolin Run in the middle of the night on Jan. 2.
The Wetzel County Sheriff’s Department had named Chris Smith, 20, of the Shadyside, Ohio, area to be a person of interest in the case. While Hoskins would not comment Wednesday evening into the details of where or with whom Lasure was found, he did say, “We believe she was in the Shadyside area at some point and time.”
Further, Hoskins clarified, “The Chris Smith of Paden City does not appear to have any connection to Casey Lasure being missing.”
The sheriff’s department is now working with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services to further the investigation into what went wrong.