Missing 14-year-old Shaina McBride was found at a Fort Lauderdale hotel with her boyfriend on Wednesday, nearly a week after she disappeared mysteriously.
According to NBC Miami, James Pescovitz-Gider, 19, was arrested and charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery of a minor when the couple was found at the Casa Alhambra hotel. Police emphasized that the couple is believed to have been seeing each other since June, and that McBride checked into the hotel with him voluntarily on Friday.
McBride's friends and family described her as an active church-goer and a straight-A student, and rejoiced to know she was OK.
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"It’s been exhausting," her brother, Benne McBride,
told CBS Miami. "We’re really thankful that (she’s) back with us . . . There were lots of tears and hugs. I’m just glad everything’s okay."
Police Captain Frank Sousa declined to disclose too much information about the case, noting that it was "active and ongoing and there are questions that still need to be answered."
Some of those questions may be answered when Pescovitz-Gider appears in court, which is scheduled for Thursday.
McBride's father told reporters that, "There had to be circumstances that got her where she was. It’s not like she had money to pay for a hotel. Something and someone had to be involved here."
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