MERRIMACK, N.H. (AP) – Authorities caught a teen runaway wanted for arson Wednesday in Massachusetts.
Police picked up Cassandra Mayo, 15, at about 2 p.m. in Methuen, Mass., Merrimack Police Lt. Michael Dudash said.
“She is charged and will be going through the juvenile judicial system in New Hampshire and Massachusetts,” he said.
Police issued a missing persons report and an arrest warrant for the girl last week after her ruling a fire at her Merrimack home suspicious. Her parents and three younger siblings were inside when the blaze began. No one was hurt.
The fire began in the basement, where Mayo’s bedroom was located. The house sustained heavy smoke and water damage and was left uninhabitable, fire officials said.
Mayo was in the Methuen Police Department’s custody Wednesday awaiting extradition proceedings, police said. The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services and the New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth and Families will be cooperating on the extradition process, police said.
Merrimack police don’t usually release information about children involved in crimes. But police asked the public for help with the search for Mayo, releasing her photo and a physical description.
Dudash said someone who had seen the photo and description tipped police to the girl’s location.
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