Missing Girl’s Parents Speak
posted 02/05/09
6:23 pm
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Campbell Co., VA -
A nightmare is now over for an Evington couple, ending 26 hours after it began. Their 13-year-old daughter is home safe. She was picked up by police, along with the 21-year-old Rhode Island man she'd hoped to marry.
The two never made it more than a mile from the Kofeldt's home. Now, Andrew Holloway faces charges of carnal knowledge of a minor and soliciting a child online. He's being held without bond.
We met with the very happy family this morning and, from where they're sitting, it looks like a sincere case of two people in love. That doesn't make it right, particularly when one is 13 and the other is 21. Still, right now, the parents are just happy to have their daughter home.
Troy Kofeldt, Father of Missing Girl - "It was the worst day of my life, and it became one of the best days of my life."
A day that began with police, confusion, and heartache ended with a mother holding a child.
Denise Kofeldt, Mother of Missing Girl - "They had her with complete blankets all over her. And then, her little face was sitting out there and she just looked up to me with those little eyes and smiled. And, that'll be another one of those times that every mother can remember that you were just glad to see that baby."
The 13-year-old had been missing more than 24-hours, living out a dream with a boyfriend she'd met online. Family members tell us Andrew Holloway flew nearly 600 miles, Rhode Island to Virginia, to take her away. The plan failed because Holloway ran low on money, and the Kofeldts never ran out of friends. Those people, who papered their story across the region, may have made the difference.
Troy Kofeldt - "It means everything."
Denise Kofeldt - "There could have been one person that didn't know about it, and that would have been the one person who maybe let these people into his house and really did believe their story."
Instead, someone did let their daughter into a home, but recognized her and called police. Two hours later, their daughter was home.
Denise Kofeldt - "It was wonderful. It was the best thing. It was the best thing."
Today, the healing begins.
Farmer - "Is she grounded for life, now?"
Denise Kofeldt - "Right now, we're not even thinking that way. Right now, we're just hugging her and loving her -- everybody is."
It's as happy an ending as you could ask for.
Denise Kofeldt - "A-hundred-thousand thank-yous to everybody. We're happy. She’s home."
The Kofeldts say their daughter planned to go with Holloway to Canada, where they would be married, and return after she turned 18. Their relationship began, not on a computer, but on an X-Box 360 video game system.
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