Georgia Teen Who Was Missing For Two Years Reappears On Sheriff's Facebook Page

A Georgia teenager who has been missing for two years suddenly reappeared Tuesday — on a sheriff department's Facebook page.

Aubrey Carroll was 15 when vanished on May 24, 2016. He walked away from his high school early in a school day and never returned, according to a statement from the FBI.

But he popped up smiling and waving in a picture and video on the Spalding County Sheriff Department’s Facebook page, where he was seen standing next to Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix.

"Hey, my name's Aubrey Carroll. It's nice to see y'all," he says in the clip. 

Dix asks Carroll if he has a message for the people who have been worried about him for the last two years. The teen responds, "I'd like to tell y'all thank y'all so much for all your prayers and looking out for my momma. I appreciate y'all so much. I'm all right. I'm okay. I've been smiling, and y'all should do the same."

The sheriff's office said it found Carroll with the help of the FBI and Texas Rangers. Police found a Facebook page that Carroll created under a different name. That profile led to the discovery. Now 17, his hair has grown out considerably since he was last seen.

Dix said Carroll spent the past two years as a vagabond with a "Woodstock"-style crew of travelers.

“He traveled extensively on the West Coast and Midwest. During this time, he became a part of a group of people who live by bartering, operating with cash only, and traveling from state to state,” Dix said in a statement. “They basically looked like a group of people from the Woodstock era in their clothing and lifestyle.”

Police said it appears Carroll left on his own, and he said he was not exploited or abused in any way. He is now at home with his mother in Griffin, Georgia.

[Photo:  Spalding County Sheriff’s Office]