Lee Trawick: Reporter2@riverbendnews.org
The six-month search for missing 16-year-old Julie "JuJu" Morgan Lovell concludes with good news: Suwannee County Sheriff Sam St. John is happy to confirm Lovell has been located, and is safe and well. "She, along with her mom and a family friend, came into our office and sat down and talked," Sheriff St. John said. "After a lengthy discussion, Lovell and her mother agreed that, at this time, she will remain with a family friend in Union County." On Wednesday, Feb. 15, Lovell was reported missing by her mother, Samantha Lovell. She was last seen on Tuesday, Feb. 14, around 11 p.m. at her uncle's home in O'Brien. It wasn’t discovered she was missing until the following morning at approximately 6 a.m. Lovell was then listed as a Missing and Endangered Person with the National Crime Information Center, and the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) opened an active investigation into locating her whereabouts. In addition, indications pointed to her running away; it looks as if she had packed a few of her clothes and various personal items her mother stated. The day seemed normal; Lovell's uncle took her to buy a new laptop and then something to eat. Therefore, nothing appeared to alert her mother to her intentions to run away. However, her mother stated she seemed to be a little off, as she and her boyfriend had broken up, but Lovell didn't seem too upset about it, which was out of character. "My daughter is dramatic, but acted as if nothing was wrong," Samantha said. "We believe she was lying about that." Although Lovell did not have a history of running away, there were no signs of abduction or foul play. The boyfriend was later questioned by the SCSO, who confirmed he was out of town at the time of her disappearance and was not involved. Then, on Tuesday, March 14, the SCSO received a letter with no return address on the envelope, claiming to have been written by Lovell. While the details of the letter could not be released, SCSO believed the letter was authentic at the time. The letter stated Lovell was safe and did run away willingly. However, SCSO could not verify the letter's authenticity and, therefore, sent it off for fingerprinting or DNA confirmation. Until then, SCSO pleaded with the author of the letter to make contact with them, as the letter mentioned very serious allegations that the SCSO would like to confirm. A few weeks later, the test results returned and confirmed the letter was authentic and was, in fact, written by Lovell. However, despite pleas from the SCSO through social media post and through the Riverbend News, Law enforcement was still unable to make contact with her. Then, on Monday, July 3, after six months of not knowing her whereabouts, Lovell, her mother and a family friend agreed to meet at the SCSO. Upon the conclusion of the meeting, it was mutually decided that Lovell would remain living with a family friend. The SCSO is still looking into the allegations expressed in Lovell's letter to the SCSO on March 14.