North Carolina teen who vanished after getting into a mystery car five years ago found living under an ‘assumed identity’ in Ohio

A GIRL who was last seen getting into a mystery car outside her school five years ago has been found living under a new identity.

Rachel Natacha Owens vanished aged just 15 in 2011, leading to a cross-border search operation with a £4,000 reward attached.

Police say she disappeared "on her own will" and went to "great lengths to intentionally conceal her whereabouts".

The North Carolina woman, now 21, gave herself a new name, dyed her hair and even used a false date of birth before she was discovered by the FBI over 600 miles away in Columbus, Ohio.

She was reported missing after CCTV captured her getting into a car as she walked from her school bus outside Brunswick High School in Boiling Spring Lakes, NC.

Owens had a history of running away but only for short lengths of time, according to .

The FBI were drafted in to help with the search, as agents followed leads as far away as Mexico.

Friends said they heard she fled south and investigators also found a short story she penned saying she dreamed of visiting the country.

But authorities eventually narrowed their investigations to Ohio in 2014 after receiving information she may have been in the state.

FBI Special Agent Rich Novelli told StarNews that he met with Owens' family after she was found last Friday, telling them they can now "move on with rebuilding their relationship".

Novelli said the federal super cops had "worked tirelessly" along with the officers from Brunswick County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina to track down Rachel.

A spokesperson from Brunswick County Sheriff's Office said: "Sheriff [John] Ingram and the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office are extremely grateful to all of those who submitted tips and leads to detectives that ultimately led to finding Rachel".

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