Teenager missing since Jan. 8 found in Howell County

Ozark County Chief Deputy Winston Collins confirmed to the Times Monday that 16-year-old Emilee Shipley, who on Jan. 8 was reported missing from the Dora-area home of her grandparents, David and Jeanie Shipley, was recently found safe in Howell County.
Collins said he could not give any details in the case yet as a joint investigation between Ozark and Howell County deputies is currently ongoing. He did confirm that the teen is currently in the custody of the state of Missouri. Soon after Emilee’s  disappearance, Jeanie Shipley told the Times that she and her husband were granted custody of the teen after she’d been taken into state custody and placed in a children’s home in Norwood for missing too many days of school while Emilee was living with her mother, Jeanie’s ex-daughter-in-law. Emilee had moved in with her Shipley grandparents just two days before she went missing. Jeanie said the family did not suspect foul play or abduction because Emilee had left a note telling her family not to worry about her and that she had left with a friend.