SUMTER, S.C. — Two teenage girls who were reported as missing in Sumter have been found safe in the Upstate region of South Carolina.
Investigators with the Sumter Police Department were able to find a connection between the 16 and 15-year-old girls to an individual in Oconee County.
Local authorities located the girls Wednesday after they had been reported missing in Sumter on Aug. 27.
The girls were picked up and placed in a state Department of Juvenile Justice facility in Columbia. Two males -- both of Seneca -- were charged by the Oconee County Sheriff's Office with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and booked at the Oconee County Detention Center.
According to Sumter Police, one of the girls is acquainted with one of the males and ran away from home last year in a similar fashion. This time, the girl made arrangements for an unidentified driver to pick the girls up from their home in Sumter and take them to where the two males lived in Seneca.
Sumter Police continue to investigate this case and are trying to discover the identity of the driver.
If you have any information about this case, please call the Sumter Police Department at 803-436-2700. Tips can also be given anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC or submitted by logging onto www.P3tips.com and clicking on the “Submit a New Tip” tab or by downloading the new P3 Tips app for Apple and Android devices.