BOISE -- Boise Police say a 15-year-old girl missing for nearly two days was found safe at the home of a friend around 1 p.m. Thursday.
Hanah Hepworth's parents reported her missing on Wednesday morning when she didn't return home from school on Tuesday. She was last seen Tuesday afternoon leaving a friend's house on her bicycle.
Police tell us Hanah was found in the area where she was last seen.
"In this case, it had a very happy ending. Shortly after 1 o'clock, really almost hours after she had last been seen. That's a critical time period, but she was found," said Boise Police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower.
Officers went back to the area on Thursday to give things a second look. That's when they found the girl hiding at a friend's house.
"They went back there, saw her bicycle in the backyard, searched it again and found her safe," said Hightower.
Officers on the scene told NewsChannel 7 one of Hanah's peers told them where she was hiding. She decided to hide at a friend's home near Settler and Westminster streets in Boise.
We spoke with the mother of Hanah's friend. She says she had no idea the girl was hiding in her home. Police came to her home today and she let them in. When she went into her bedroom, she saw Hanah hiding under the bed. She says her daughter just wanted to help a friend. The woman says police cited her with harboring a runaway.
"This case can spark conversations for parents. It's a good opportunity for parents to ask those 'what if' questions to their kids," said Hightower.
Boise Police responded to 266 runaway cases last year. Hightower says only eight of those cases went unsolved. She hopes Hanah will see how the community rallied around her.
"Hopefully one of the things that comes out of this is that she will realize just how many people in this community, including plenty that she has never met, really, really care about her," said Hightower.
Hanah was questioned by a school resource officer, and it's believed she won't face any legal consequences for running away.
Boise Police would not comment on any other details of the case at this time.
