Jamie Stevens update | Runaway girl found by Lynnwood Police; healing process begins

The search for a runaway Redmond High School student is over — and now the healing process begins.

Jamie Stevens, a 15-year-old sophomore who ran away from her parents' home in unincorporated King County near the Woodinville-Redmond border nearly two months ago, was found by Lynnwood Police through a tip on Wednesday around 4 p.m., according to her mother, Judy.

"She's back!" Judy said in an e-mail to the Reporter early Thursday morning. "We have a long road to travel, but we have faith Jamie will be fine."

She was spotted at the Lynnwood Library, where she was checking e-mails, according to her father, Jim. A person who had contact with Jamie a few weeks ago when she first ran away spotted her and called Judy, who then called 911, according to Jim. Jamie was found nearby at the Lynnwood Park and Ride with a 20-year-old man, Jim said.

Jamie was not cooperative when approached by police and had to be handcuffed and taken to the Lynnwood police station, Jim said.

Judy picked up Jamie at the police station last night and took her to a family friend's house. Jamie spent the night at her former church youth group leader's house in Redmond Wednesday night "to let her de-stress before coming home. She was very distraught over the whole ordeal when I picked her up at the police station," said Judy, who planned to pick up Jamie and bring her home this morning.

"She was sorry she had not kept in touch with her family and friends and caused so much worry," Judy said. "She called me several times during the night to ask questions about next steps. She will be coming back home."

Both Judy and Jim were extremely busy on Thursday as they worked to heal their family wounds. They did not have time to go into the details of Jamie's journey as they, too, are still finding out exactly what happened.

"She's at an extreme right now," said Jim. "I think she was trying to figure out how to live on her own, but it's too early for her to do that. We need to work this out."

Judy and Jim were in the process of setting up a doctor's appointment for Jamie Thursday morning when the Reporter contacted the parents.

"She needs to be seen by a doctor right away to make sure she is physically sound," Judy said.

As far as school goes, Judy and Jim will plan to meet with Lake Washington School District "to understand options for school" since she has missed several weeks of class time.

"She may do online school to catch up, I just don't know yet," Judy said.

Jamie stormed out of her parents' house Sept. 21 after a fight with her parents and never returned. Jamie communicated with her family when she first ran away, but cut off all correspondence with her family Sept. 30.

Her parents got a glimmer of hope on Monday when they received a birthday card from Jamie to her younger brother, Jonathan, who turned 14 last Thursday.

While Jamie was missing, Judy feared the worst scenarios, possibly involving drugs or prostitution, but was upbeat after Jamie sent the birthday card.

"At least I know she is alive," Judy said earlier in the week.

Judy said the card had a note in it from Jamie to Jonathan, wishing him a happy birthday and telling him she hoped she could see him soon. The note also told Johnathan to "say hi to mom and dad," Judy said.

Two different Major Crimes detectives from the King County Sheriff's Office helped search for Jamie, along with a Seattle Police Department detective who works on the FBI's Innocence Lost task force, which focuses on domestic sex trafficking of children in the United States.

"We know there is light at the end of the tunnel," Jim said. "It might be a long tunnel, we don't know the length of the tunnel yet."

• email
• letter
• print
• follow