ORANGEBURG, S.C. — On Friday, Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell announced that 5-year-old, Aspen Jeter, was been found safe. She was found at around 1:00 p.m. Friday in Virginia.
Sheriff Ravenell called it a Christmas miracle. "Today, I've got my Christmas present early," he said.
This case has drawn national attention since Thanksgiving Day, when Aspen's mother, Crystal Jumper was found dead with her child nowhere to be found.
Law enforcement revealed that the child was likely with her father, 47-year-old Antar Jeter, who they were also searching for. The pair was spotted in the city of Fayetteville, North Carolina around November 30.
Orangeburg deputies explained that they were able to track Antar Jeter through his bank account spending. They found out that the father and daughter were all the way in Virginia, in the town of Danville, four hours away.
After getting an arrest warrant police were able to finally find both Antar and Aspen.
"Just this morning, we obtained an arrest warrant for Mr. Jeter's arrest for murder," Ravenell explained.
Hundreds of people tuned in to watch Friday's press conference, including Melanie Yvarra, who says she has been fully invested in this case.
All the way from Kentucky, Yvarra runs one of four groups on Facebook where collectively tens of thousands of people were sharing information, hoping to bring Aspen home.
"I think one thing about this case that grabbed my attention was that she [Aspen] is disabled and nonverbal," Yvarra said. "I can only imagine the confusion of this little girl, and not being able to express herself verbally what her thoughts were during this time."
Yvarra says now that Aspen is coming home, she is breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm just very happy, and it was just relief that they had found her and she's okay," Yvarra said with a smile.
As of Friday, Aspen is reportedly still in Virginia, and so is her father Antar.
Law enforcement is working to have him extradited from Virginia and brought to South Carolina. Deputies are also working to bring aspen back home as well. Her family asks for time and space as they try to heal.