Student Missing Seven Years Alive; Could Have Been Found Sooner

A Texas A&M student, who disappeared in 1998 and was presumed dead, was found alive and well in Kentucky. The girl's parents had given up hope and were planning to have her declared dead. A caller to a missing person tip line pointed police to the missing girl, who had left home after an argument with her parents and never returned. A happy ending, sure, but it could have happened so much sooner.

The girl was living and working under her own name, using her own Social Security number. So why wasn't she found during the past seven years? Police were not permitted to access her IRS records. One quick check would have saved this family seven years of unnecessary grieving, but that simple check wasn't possible. Sad, really.