A Georgia teenager who vanished after an argument with her father was finally found safe, living under an alias in another state.
Asata Amun was 16 years old when she disappeared last year without taking any personal belongings with her.
With nothing but the clothes on her back, Asata was captured on a doorbell camera, barefoot and fleeing her father’s home in Gwinnett County on February 1.
Highlights
- A Georgia teenager was found more than a year after vanishing from her home in Gwinnett County.
- A doorbell camera captured Asata Amun running away barefoot from her father’s home.
- Her mother said the teenager “slept in the street” and used a fake name while in a completely different state.
A Georgia teenager was located over a year after she vanished from her home in Gwinnett County
Image credits: Gwinnett County Police
It is believed the teenager had an altercation with her father Kwabena Amun, who threatened to send her to military school over behavioral issues.
The teenager also faced disciplinary action from her school authorities the day before her disappearance.
“So you are just going to run like a coward, Asata,” her father yelled at her shortly before his doorbell camera captured the moment his daughter ran away from home.
Image credits: Gwinnett County Police
Kwabena later said he thought his daughter would just go visit a friend when she left the house.
“I just want to make sure my baby girl is OK. That she is alright,” the father previously said.
Investigators searched the father’s house after the teen went missing. When allegations of Kwabena’s mistreatment arose, Children’s Protective Services removed Asata’s two sisters from his home.
“Thank God. They’re not with him,” said Asata’s mother Jasmine Dominique.
A doorbell camera captured Asata Amun running away barefoot from her father’s home
Image credits: WSBTV
Jasmine divorced Kwabena in 2019 and accused her ex-husband of mistreating her.
Currently living in Connecticut, the mother described her missing daughter as a “free-spirit tomboy,” living with her father at the time of her disappearance.
She claimed Asata had complained about being mistreated by Kwabena as well, but the father has denied the claims.
Father Kwabena Amun threatened to send his daughter to military school over behavioral issues
Image credits: WSBTV
Jasmine also revealed that her missing daughter had called her the last time she ran away from home but did not contact her after her disappearance in February 2024.
“She knows my number. She could have sent me a message,” she told WSB earlier this month.
The mother said it’s “not common not to hear something at all.”
“It’s not something easy for me. It’s hard,” she said about spending a year without knowing anything about her daughter’s well-being or whereabouts.
Image credits: WTNH News8
The heartbroken mother made a plea to the public for any information that could lead to finding Asata.
“I just want to make sure that wherever she is, she’s OK. You know, she’s alive,” the mother said.
Within days of her plea, Jasmine received the call she had been hoping for.
“I dropped the phone when I heard it. I couldn’t believe it,” she told WSB.
The missing teenager was found days after Jasmine made a plea for information about her whereabouts
Image credits: WSBTV
The mother was told that the teenager had wound up in the neighboring state of Tennessee and struggled for a while before she was placed in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
“She was in Atlanta when she left and she slept in the street until someone kind of helped her and got her on a bus to go where she needed to go to feel safe,” Jasmine said.
The Gwinnett County Police said in a statement shared on Sunday, March 17, that Asata had been safely located and had been in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services since February 2024 under a fake name.
Jasmine said her daughter didn’t know anyone in Tennessee.
“I guess she had it in her mind that where she is going will be safer for her,” she told the outlet.
The mother said the teenager “slept in the street” and used a fake name while in Tennessee
Image credits: WSBTV
A “breakthrough” in the case occurred when a case manager for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services found inconsistencies in the missing teenager’s story.
This prompted research into missing children in Georgia, ultimately leading the Tennessee department to get in touch with the Gwinnett County Police Department.
“Arrangements have been made to transfer custody of Asata Amun to the Georgia Department of Family & Children Services,” the police department said.
Jasmine hopes to reunite with her daughter soon
Image credits: WSBTV
“The investigation into her disappearance remains active,” the statement added.
A relieved Jasmine said she is hoping to reunite with her daughter soon.
Netizens were glad to hear the news of the teenager being found, with one saying “Protect her!”
Image credits: WTNH-TV
“I hope the system doesn’t fail her again,” one commenter said.
Many questioned the circumstances that led to Asata running away in the first place.
“She ran for safety,” one commenter said, while another wrote, “People rarely run away from a happy home.”
“That baby was trying to escape something wicked that was going on at her home. God be with her,” said another.
“Please don’t return her to her dad’s custody,” one said. “There’s obviously reasons why she ran away and her two sisters aren’t even in his custody.”
Netizens questioned the circumstances that pushed Asata to run away in the first place
