Help Needed To Find Missing 17-year-old From Rochester Hills

UPDATE: A 51-year-old Bitely, MI, man is in custody on charges of harboring a runaway and manufacturing child pornography after sheriff's deputies found the missing teen, who is now home and safe.

Police are asking people in West Michigan to look for a missing teenager, Janella Arlene Nicholas, who, on Friday, November 7, after she got out of school at the Alternative Center for Education in Rochester Hills.

She got off the bus at 3 PM, but left in an older Jeep Cherokee with an unknown person, and it wasn't until she failed to return home that night that her father put the call in to the authorities.

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Since then, she has not been located or heard from, and the Oakland County Sheriff's Department says the senior could be in West Michigan.

However, authorities have not shared why they feel she may be on the west side of the state, or any specific area.

The 17-year-old girl was wearing a light colored hooded sweatshirt and said she is 5‘5“ and weighs around 135 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with the information is being asked to contact the sheriff's office at 248-858-4950.

It’s very odd to see news from the alternative high school that I went to in Rochester Hills, Michigan, so when I saw the story come up, I felt a personal connection to it.

My only hope is that Janella is safe and returns home to the people who love her, and she can get back to school.

The Alternative Center for Education in Rochester Hills is literally what saved me from dropping out of high school, and the teachers there seriously care for their students, so I know the whole school is waiting with bated breath for her safe return.