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Truth about Arizona girl found alive decades after vanishing leaves investigator ‘dumbfounded’: report
An Arizona girl whose 1994 disappearance was long treated as a possible abduction has been found alive more than three decades later and investigators now say she left voluntarily.
The Gila County Sheriff’s Office confirmed this week that Christina “Tina” Marie Plante, who vanished from Star Valley at age 13, has been located alive at 44, bringing a decades-old case to a close.
But new details shared by a lead investigator are shifting the narrative behind her disappearance.
Capt. Jamie Garrett, a cold case investigator who ultimately identified and contacted Plante, said she was surprised to learn the teen had run away rather than being taken.
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“I guess she wasn’t happy with where she was living and who she was living with, and she ran away,” Garrett told NewsNation on Thursday.
“I was dumbfounded,” Garrett added. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. OK, so you ran away.’ I told her … ‘You know, we were under the impression that somebody kidnapped you. It was deemed a criminal offense.’”
Plante was last seen around midday on May 15, 1994, leaving her home in Star Valley on foot. According to her missing person flyer, she told others she was heading to a nearby horse stable but never returned. Investigators at the time classified the case as “missing/endangered” under suspicious circumstances.
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She was described as having blue eyes and dark blonde hair and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, multicolored shorts and black tennis shoes.
Her disappearance prompted an extensive search effort, but authorities were unable to develop meaningful leads. Over time, the case went cold, though it remained open and was periodically revisited by investigators.
Garrett said he recently focused on a lead involving an adult woman he believed could be Plante and reached out directly. The woman confirmed her identity, according to Garrett.
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The investigator said Plante indicated she left on her own with help from relatives she had been in contact with at the time.
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“She said that was a long time ago, that was an old life,” Garrett said. “She’s in her adult life. She has her family now. That’s not something she even thinks about.”
Garrett also told NewsNation that he does not believe there are immediate family members currently in the Star Valley area still searching for Plante.
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Authorities have not released further details about where Plante has been or the circumstances surrounding her departure, citing privacy considerations.
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The development marks a significant shift from the assumptions that guided the early investigation, which for years centered on the possibility that Plante had been abducted.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Gila County Sheriff’s Office for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
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Trump greeted at UFC 327 in first sporting event appearance since start of Iran war
President Donald Trump was greeted by a packed crowd at UFC 327 in Miami Saturday night during the president’s first appearance at a sporting event since the start of the Iran war. Fans in attendance erupted into raucous applause as Trump walked into the venue.
Trump made his way out with UFC CEO and president Dana White and went around to the announcers and had an exchange with Joe Rogan, who was sitting at the announcers’ table.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was standing nearby the seats right before Trump walked out, then leaned in to Trump and started whispering very closely to the president, cupping his hands over his mouth and they each exchanged a few words. Trump then turned around, pumping his fist to those sitting behind him, smiling and waving, then pointed a few times to the crowd.
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Trump has been a frequent fixture at UFC and other combat sports events during his presidency, during his 2024 campaign and even dating back to his first term.
In 2025, Trump attended UFC 316 and Miami fight night. In 2024, he attended UFC 302 in June and UFC 309 in November.
In 2019, he attended UFC 244.
Before Saturday, the last major sporting event Trump attended was the College Football Playoff national championship game between Indiana and Miami at Hard Rock Stadium Jan. 19.
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Trump was notably absent from this year’s Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in Italy and didn’t attend any other events after the Iran war broke out.
But after Tuesday’s ceasefire agreement, Trump has returned to sport. Trump addressed the ongoing situation with Iran at the White House before departing for Joint Base Andrews to travel to Miami for the UFC event.
“We’re in very deep negotiations with Iran. We win regardless. We’ve defeated them militarily,” Trump told reporters. “Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. And the reason is because we’ve won, whether you listen to the fake news or not.”
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Heather Graham says classmates dismissed her as ‘nerdy’ before Hollywood breakthrough proved them wrong
Before Hollywood came calling, Heather Graham said, she was dismissed as a “nerdy” teenager.
The actress recalled being underestimated in high school before landing the popular cheerleader role in “License to Drive,” a turning point she described as a “huge moment” that launched her independence and her career.
“I was nerdy. … You know, I was smart, and I was just, like, nobody thought I was that pretty,” Graham recalled during an episode of “Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson.”
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“So, I got this job as, like, the popular, pretty cheerleader, and I had very bad style and bad hair and makeup. Like, I did not know how to, like, do that. And then people were like, ‘Oh?’
“[The movie] came out right as I was graduating,” Graham added. “And I think people were like, ‘Well, maybe we should have paid attention to her.'”
Graham revealed landing the iconic role as Mercedes Lane in “License to Drive” was a “huge moment” for her at 17.
“It was huge for me. Like, that was a huge moment,” she explained. “I got to make money. I was independent. I had a bank account, you know, and I could live on my own.”
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Graham began her career with small roles in commercials and TV before landing teen films such as “Drugstore Cowboy” and “Swingers.”
She got her breakthrough with “Boogie Nights,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Bowfinger.”
Graham landed a role in the blockbuster film “The Hangover” in 2009. She has since continued acting in films and TV while also expanding into writing and directing projects.
Her latest film, “They Will Kill You,” hit theaters March 27.
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The 56-year-old actress shared some of her beauty secrets in a recent interview with Us Weekly.
Graham claimed she’s “never had an actual operation where they’re cutting my face open.” But she said she has tried a series of other methods, including “microneedling, Botox … and a bunch of lasery things.”
“Some of those laser treatments are torture,” she said. “Like, an hour and a half of your face getting blasted.”
The movie star’s goal is to stay away from invasive plastic surgery because she doesn’t “want to look freaky,” and her “goal is to look natural.”
“I feel like some people get facelifts and they just kind of end up looking like … I mean, there are people that get it, and it’s good. But I just don’t want to be one of those people that got it and look freaky,” she said. “But I don’t know if [when] I got older, I wouldn’t completely rule out. Who knows, in the future.”
Graham also tries to maintain a balanced diet and get 10 to 11 hours of sleep. She said she uses yoga as a way to stay in shape and manage stress, calling it “so cathartic.”
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Seven-foot statue unveiled honoring Magawa, award-winning rat who found more than 100 landmines in Cambodia
A landmine-sniffing rat who won a gold medal for “life-saving devotion to duty” in Cambodia has been honored with a massive stone statue.
Magawa, a rat who gained fame in the country for sniffing out more than 100 mines (more than 1.5 million square feet) in his five-year career — more than any other rat in the country — retired in 2021 and died at age 8 in 2022.
The African giant pouched rat was trained by the Belgian charity APOPO to use his keen sense of smell to sniff out landmines and other explosives.
In Cambodia, more than 1 million people live and work in areas dotted with landmines, according to BBC News.
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In 2020, Magawa received the PDSA Dickin medal for gallantry, which recognizes heroism in animals.
He was the first rat in the organization’s history going back to 1943 to win the award.
Magawa was able to walk over areas with land mines safely because of his light weight and would alert his handlers to a mine by scratching the surface, according to Smithsonian magazine. He would then receive a treat.
“During his career, Magawa found over 100 landmines and other explosives, making him APOPO’s most successful HeroRAT to date,” the organization said in 2022, while announcing his death. “His contribution allows communities in Cambodia to live, work and play without fear of losing life or limb.”
Cambodia has the highest rate of landmine amputees per capita of any country.
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APOPO added, “Every discovery he made reduced the risk of injury or death for the people of Cambodia.”
The statue was unveiled in Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 3, just in time for International Day for Mine Awareness April 4.
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