Texas cheerleader Ava Phillips, 17, is found safe after desperate search was sparked when she vanished from Angleton High School
A missing teenage cheerleader has been found alive after she vanished from school, sparking a desperate search.
Ava Phillips, 17, has been missing since Tuesday and was last seen leaving Angleton High School at 10:02 a.m. and getting into a white Toyota Corolla.
Her mother, Kailey Perez, suspected Phillips was headed with her boyfriend to Austin, which is nearly 200 miles from the city of Angleton.
She later revealed to Click2Houston that her daughter recently “tried to distance herself from a boy who was emotionally abusing her,” though it remains unclear whether her current boyfriend is the one abusing her.
But in a shocking update, Angleton police said Ava is “safe and has been reunited with her family,” but no further information was provided.
Ava Phillips, 17, was last seen leaving Angleton High School around 10 a.m. and getting into a white Toyota Corolla after missing her fourth period class.
DailyMail.com reached out to Ava’s mother for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The large-scale search for Ava was aided by Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, who shared a bulletin describing her disappearance on X.
His post was viewed 158,000 times.
It remains unclear why Ava left her car in the school parking lot the day she left. Her car still contained crucial belongings such as her phone, keys, and backpack.
Police have not yet identified Ava’s boyfriend.
The massive search for Ava was aided by Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, who shared a post detailing her disappearance on X
The teen’s mother, Kailey Perez, initially raised the alarm after her car was found in the school parking lot with her phone, keys and backpack inside. Now that Ava has been found, it’s unknown why she did this
While she was still missing, Perez claimed that Ava called her from another number and that she appeared stressed.
‘She called me from a blocked number. She sounded scared and I don’t think she’s in control.
“She told me she was coming home, but she hasn’t. I just want her to get home safe. She sounds very scared.
“Her voice is shaking really bad. I don’t think she’s in control. I think someone is telling her what to say.
“She’s a beautiful, sweet girl who would never run away,” the distraught mother said.