16-year-old girl leaves home in the middle of the night. Almost a week later, dad says, 'Everybody is looking for you'
“If you’re out there on your own, it’s really easy to come home,” Sophia Veronica Cover’s dad said
NEED TO KNOW
- A 16-year-old girl was captured on security footage leaving her Florida home on foot in the early morning hours of July 31
- Nearly a week later, her dad issued an emotional plea as the search for her continues
- “I have buried myself into finding her,” Richard Cover said of his daughter, Sophia
A 16-year-old girl has been missing for nearly a week after she left her Florida home in the middle of the night.
“I have buried myself into finding her,” Richard Cover told ABC affiliate WZVN of his daughter, 16-year-old Sophia Veronica Cover, who disappeared on July 31.
He added, “I’m focusing on… going through every social media post we can from even friends, so we can see if there’s a glimpse of anyone.”
“The biggest thing, I think, is I’m focused on finding her more than anything else,” the father said.
On Friday morning at around 12:45 a.m. local time, the teen was seen leaving her home in Golden Gate Estates on foot, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office said in an alert.
“Deputies said Sophia is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and approximately 115 pounds with long brown hair and brown eyes,” officials said of the missing girl.
Surveillance footage reviewed by WZVN showed Sophia leaving her house on 62nd Avenue Northeast while wearing a dark hoodie and backpack.
The disappearance comes four months after the family moved to the area. They don’t believe Sophia would have run away, and have searched online and in the local area trying to find any sign of her whereabouts.
“There is no way that she’s going and leaving, putting me through this for five days,” Richard told WZVN. “There’s no way. I don’t care what the reason is.”
A spokesperson for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office confirms to PEOPLE that Sophia has yet to be found, and there have been no new sightings. The search for the missing teen is ongoing.
“Everybody is looking for you,” Sophia’s dad told the outlet as he urged her to come home.
“And, if you’re out there on your own, it’s really easy to come home,” Richard said. “You can go to any police officer. You can go to any adult that is safe.”
Anyone with information about Sophia’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Collier County Sheriff’s Office at 239-252-9300.
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