SAFFORD, Ariz. — UPDATE: The 12-year-old was located in South Carolina
The search for a missing 12-year-old Safford girl is intensifying nine days after she went missing.
The girl vanished after she went for a walk on Sunday, March 20 around 11 a.m., according to her family and Graham County authorities.
She was last seen near the Thunderbird Mobile Home Park in Safford, a city more than 150 miles southeast of Phoenix.
Her family tells 12 News that going for a walk was not unusual for her describing her as an adventurous, nature-loving independent girl.
But when the clock struck 6 p.m. Sunday and she still wasn't home, her family was concerned.
“It was a red flag. And that’s why we said something so quickly," said the girl's mom.
By 8 p.m. that night, the girl's family had notified the Graham County Sheriff's Office which triggered a search but there was no sign of her.
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