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Video: Teenage girls run away from Penfield foster home, are later found

UPDATE

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — All of the girls have been found and returned home safely and in good health, according to authorities. Officials thanked both the community for their help and Pathways to Peace who located two of the girls and helped ensure their safe return.

ORIGINAL

PENFIELD, N.Y (WROC) — The search is still on for three teenage girls who went missing from a Foster Care Home in Penfield Sunday night. Neighbors across the street captured the moment the teens were last seen sneaking out of the home and running to a car to be picked up.

Initially, four teenage girls went missing from this Foster Stabilization Home in Penfield, but 12-year-old Mahleena Tony has been located and is safe. She was transported back to the facility. But the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office still needs the public’s help locating the other three.

Just before 10:00 p.m., Steven Becker — who lives across the street from the Foster Care Stabilization Center — noticed the teens sneaking out a side window and filmed them running around the back of the home as Monroe County Deputies pulled up to meet staff in the driveway.

Moments later he captured the girls running across the street to jump in a car.  

“I was like yelling to the cops to pay attention, but I guess he didn’t hear me,” Becker said. “Initially the car pulled into my driveway but then into my neighbor’s driveway. And the girls just bolted. The car took off then.”  

The three teens still missing have been identified as 16-year-old Leah Ervin, 15-year-old Destiney Barrett, and 14-year-old Kah’Maiyah Spirles. Authorities are unsure if the three are together, but neighbors tell us in recent weeks they’ve been approached by people at their homes asking for the whereabouts of these girls.

Some think the incident was planned.

“Saturday a guy came up and was looking for this girl adding he was supposed to give her money because he was her uncle,” Becker continued. “We have people that would come and say they were called to this address to pick up some people.”

“We do have some reasons to believe they might be somewhere in the City of Rochester,” Sergeant Matthew Bottone of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office added. “Our investigators are still tracking down some leads to locate them.” 

Deputies urge the public to be on the lookout for any of these teens then call 9-1-1 immediately to report their whereabouts and clothing descriptions. But do not engage with them.  

“Please call 9-1-1 do not approach,” Sgt. Bottone said. “Get their clothing description and which way of travel. These are all great things for us as law enforcement to try and track somebody down.”  

We went over to this Penfield Children’s Home to get more on what may have prompted these girls to run away but they declined to comment. Their facility opened back on June 9 as a foster care center for kids aged 10 to 17 to stay if they were pulled from homes where they were in danger.  

Neighbors told us this is not the first time authorities have been called to this Foster Home.