CONWAY, Ark. — After more than two months of searching for her— Conway teen, Tanvi Marupally is finally home. Though despite the good news there are still a lot of questions.
Tanvi was last seen on January 17 when she left Conway Junior High School.
“Instead of getting on the bus Tanvi continued to walk down Davis Street north into the northern part of town until yesterday, that is all the information that we had,” said Conway Chief of Police William Tapley
According to the Conway Police, she embarked on a long journey from Conway, Arkansas all the way to Kansas City.
Police explained that Tanvi walked for miles into the night and into the next day when she was able to find a train.
“On approximately January the 22nd, at which time she entered the community and found a homeless shelter,” said Tapley. “She checked into that homeless shelter under a false identity and stayed in the Kansas City area for approximately two months.”
From there Conway Police explained that Tanvi took a bus to Tampa, Florida.
“She found an abandoned building that she began to reside in,” said Tapley. “Tanvi’s love for the library is ultimately what led to her discovery.”
On March 28 a photo taken at a library in Downtown Tamp of Tanvi was sent to authorities and then to Conway Police that next morning.
“She was searching for jobs. On Craigslist. She had a phone, a functioning phone in her possession,” said Tapley.
People who call the city of Conway home worked together searching near and far in hopes of finding Tanvi now feel a sigh of relief for the Marupally family.
“Every day, it's like, what are we doing today? What are we doing next? You know, and it is it's like a dream that that that is now in the past,” said Jenny Wallace who lives in Conway and helped with multiple search efforts.
Though Wallace also explained that they still have questions.
“In the beginning was the first two weeks, which are the most important two weeks that a lot of balls were dropped,” Wallace added.
Members of the community are not the only ones that have been left with questions. Activist Derek Van Voast said he wants answers but more importantly, he wants change to come from this.
“We have to have legislation change, we have to have wording on any we'd like to have any child that goes missing, be considered missing and endangered,” said Van Voast.
Though there is still no exact reason why Tanvi left in the first place, police said there were concerns about her family having to leave the United States.
We also do not know what shelter she was staying at or even where she got that phone.