A missing 10-year-old Texas girl and her 43-year-old father have been found by authorities in an unnamed foreign country.
Michael Long had been on the run since July with his daughter Sophie. Michael subsequently failed to turn up for a court appearance in McKinney this August.
According to the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, Sophie is now in protective custody as they arrange for her to be returned to the United States.
Meanwhile, Michael, currently in custody, faces a felony warrant for Interference with Child Custody. The government is also working on Michael's extradition to Collin County.
"Many months of determined work by my deputies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals paid off this morning," Sheriff Jim Skinner said. "We are so happy that Sophie is safe."
In August, Michael had told the British Daily Mail: "I'd absolutely go to jail to protect Sophie. I'd do anything for her. She's a 10-year-old child."
"She shouldn't have to be dealing with this stuff. These high conflict custody cases - this wasn't about getting into a custody case. This was about getting justice for my daughter."
At the time, Michael insisted he was protecting Sophie from the abuse he says she'd suffered in the care of her mother.
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