Christa Rogaliner found SAFE in Maryland today: Had been missing for more than 1 month

WMAL-AM 630 Radio - Washington, DC | February 1, 2004

[Freedom2specul8]

Excellent news! Thanks so much for the ping DA! OUR PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED!

THANK YOU LORD, FOR ANSWERING OUR PRAYERS..PLEASE HELP THEM AS THEY RENEW

[Freedom2specul8]

That's amazing that they got the report on AMW.. Thanks for the update..and I'm hoping they're going to be okay..and that God gives them peace now.

[Pegita]

Heavenly Father, we return to give You thanks for Christa's safety ... we praise You that You've watched over her this last month and kept her from harm. Lead this family into their time of reunion ... give to each an extra measure of compassion and understanding, in the Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen ...

[Treasa]

Big Hugs all around!!!
I've been out this evening and wanted to check before bed,
We will all sleep better knowing this. I'm am grateful to God and all of you who kept praying for this family.
Sweet dreams Ya'll!!...

[Rummyfan]

I'm glad they found her safe but where the heck has she been for six weeks? There are posters all over the area asking for any information concerning her or her whereabouts. Couldn't she have picked up a phone?

[BARLF]

Thanks for the ping. A happy ending for Christa,that she is alive. I'm thrilled to hear she's ok.

[GummyIII]

America's Most Wanted site has a little bit more info.

Thanks, Kim, for letting me know! I'm so glad she's alive. So often, the news is not good.

[af_vet_1981]

Did you ever stop to think that maybe she ran away because her family put her through hell? I don't know what the story is and neither do you.

Nope. She would have called Child Protective Services and not run away to be someone's slave.

[petitfour]

From the AMW website:

When her case aired on America’s Most Wanted, tips immediately began flowing into the show’s hotline. One tipster said Christa was living with an elderly woman in the town of White Oak, about sixty miles away from her last sighting. Two Leesburg Police Detectives and two agents from the FBI went to the residence and located Christa. She admitted that she is indeed Christa Rogaliner.

The elderly woman is not a suspect in the case. Detectives believe she was a Good Samaritan who took Christa in and gave her a place to stay.

This is great news! Thank God she was found safe! God was certainly looking after Christa. I hope she realises that.

[Freedom2specul8]

Isn't this an amazing miracle? :)

Thanks for the info from the amw website..

I am convinced that God's Angels were helping protecting her..she could have easily been staying with someone that was unsafe. Thank you again Lord..

[Jackie-O]

Praise GOD and the power of prayer!!!
I haven't even read the thread yet for the details, my heart is bursting with joy and relief for Christa and her family!!

[StayAt HomeMother]

Today's Fairfax Journal has little additional information:

FBI finds missing Leesburg teenager
By DREW BUSH Journal staff writer
     Following a tip generated by television's ``America's Most Wanted," FBI agents over the weekend found a Leesburg girl who had been missing for nearly two months.
    Christa Rogaliner, 17, disappeared Dec. 12 after she was last seen at The Bombay Company store in the Dulles Town Center mall in Sterling. She had gone there to pick up a Christmas gift for her sister and police later found her car abandoned.
    Following Friday night's airing of ``America's Most Wanted," at which Leesburg police were present, FBI agents followed a tip and found Rogaliner unharmed in Maryland. She since has been transported back to her home in Leesburg and reunited with her family.
    Police declined to release further details of the case because they continue to investigate the circumstances under which she was found. The family did not return calls seeking comment.
    ``CHRISTA IS HOME SAFE AND SOUND!!!" read a statement issued by the Rogaliner family. ``Our daughter is now home with us. We are overjoyed and want to share our heartfelt THANKS to EVERYONE that helped make this possible."
    But several questions remain about why Christa went missing.
    The Loudoun High School student had wanted to pick up a Christmas gift for her sister, that she'd already ordered, after The Bombay Company called earlier in the week to say she needed to get it immediately, her mother said in December. But Christa didn't like to drive and couldn't find a ride. After her mother left for work, she apparently decided to borrow her father's car without his permission.
    The store manager at Bombay later said the girl was upset when she got there and told store employees that she hit a curb, ``wrecking" her father's car and causing it to shake severely. The store employees referred her to a nearby AutoZone in the Potomac Run Shopping Center, but she may have missed the side street into the center.
    The car later was found in Reston's Shaker Woods neighborhood on Wiehle Avenue just off the Fairfax County Parkway not far from Route 7, police said. Route 7 is a main highway from Leesburg to Sterling on which the mall is located.
    The car, a 1993 green Ford Escort station wagon, was found unlocked with the keys inside and the gift, a picture she bought for her 19-year-old sister, was in the back seat. The car was parked at an odd angle to the curb, as if Christa had stopped in the midst of a three point U-turn.
    Lisa Rogaliner didn't notice her daughter was missing until she returned home after picking up her husband, Jeff, at Dulles International Airport. Christa's manager at Andy's Pizza and Subs said she wasn't scheduled to work that weekend until Dec. 14 but didn't show up that day either.
    ``She would never blow off work," Lisa Rogaliner said in December. ``I just got sick. I looked at Jeff and said Christa's missing and the car's gone."
    ``For her to have borrowed the car and then to have wrecked it, she thinks her life is over. Her life is not over," she added at the time.
    The Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation subsequently authorized a reward of $5,000 for information leading to Christa. Now, however, Christa is home.
    ``She was found healthy and safe and she is so happy to be home," the family's statement continues. ``She sends her love and thanks to everyone that cared about her and her family during this trying time."

[MudPuppy]

Christa is alive and back home.
YAY!

[Velveeta]

Great news for these anxious parents!

Unforgivable that this young lady would let her parents worry like that.

[Freedom2specul8]

See post #32..new update

People are naturally upset about what this child did to her parents. My own hubby, youngest daughter and I debated about this last night...they both think that if my youngest did the same thing, then she'd be in huge trouble.. I was very doubtful. If my youngest was troubled, if she had serious problems at school and home..then I would say, yes, she'd be in big trouble.

Christa was not labeled a troubled child, and had no apparent alcohol or drug issues...so IMHO, forgiveness and joy would overwhelm anger at this point. Maybe some kind of consequence might be in order..but dang, the child has been through way too much as it is....and it was self-imposed. My final comment to my family was that there is no way to know how we'd act and I DON'T want to find out.

[Freedom2specul8]

Thank you for posting the new article...

[Teacup]

Thank God she is well, but geesh Louise! Her poor parents, neighbors, friends and volunteers who were at their wits ends worried for this young girl. I pray she and her family can resolve their problems.

[hosepipe]

[ Even if they just find the body, it will provide some resolution, as well as help nail the guy who did it. ]

Find the BODY ?..
WHAT.!. AFTER HER MOTHER GETS THROUGH WITH HER ?...

[Freedom2specul8]

I just had an epiphany after reading teacup's post. All the time, money and effort spent looking for her, definitely deserves a consequence. I don't know what...but all I can think of is that Christa might need to somehow make amends to all the friends etc... How does one do that though?

[Jackie-O]

An apology might be a good start....maybe some community service thru her church??