MIAMI — An eight-year-old girl who was reported missing out of South Florida on Friday night has been found in Louisiana amid an ongoing custody battle between her parents.
Police shared in an Instagram post on Saturday afternoon that Liah Meza, from Homestead — a city about 40 miles south of Miami — is now safe with her father Christian Meza.
“We appreciate the community’s vigilance and swift action in helping to locate her,” the agency said. “Thank you to everyone who shared the alert and remained on the lookout. Your support made a difference.”
According to the initial report sent out by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Meza was last seen near the 40th block of NW 1st Ave. in Homestead and believed to be in the company of the girl’s mother Yailen Roche and the mother’s boyfriend Geovany Maresma-Burcet, both 38.
FDLE reported that the trio was traveling to Lafayette, Louisiana in a 2021 white Honda Pilot.
However, Roche and Maresma-Burcet reached out to CBS News Miami before police provided an update because they claimed that Meza was not missing but rather on vacation with them in Louisiana. Roche said they woke up surprised on Saturday morning when they found pictures of them on the news.