Missing 12-year-old girl found 2 days later at Dollar General, NC sheriff says

The two-day search for a missing 12-year-old girl came to a surprising end when she was discovered wandering a Dollar General store, according to investigators in North Carolina.

Investigators have not revealed how long the girl was at the store.

She was last seen at 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, at a home on New Jersey Church Road in Lexington, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. She was reported missing at 11 a.m., prompting an investigation that included the FBI, N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and N.C. State Highway Patrol, officials said.

“On April 9 ... at approximately 1:15, (the girl) was located at the Dollar General, 3653 Highway 8, Lexington,” the sheriff’s office said.

“The on-duty manager observed her in the Dollar General Store and called law enforcement. Multiple members of the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office responded and found (her) safe and not hurt.”

Emergency Medical Services was summoned to the store to evaluate the girl, and she was transported to a hospital “for further assistance,” the sheriff’s office said.

“She was talking. She seemed find,” Sheriff Richie Simmons said at a press conference.

An investigation is underway, including the Davidson County Department of Social Services, officials said.

Maps show the Dollar General is about 1.5 miles from the nearest New Jersey Church Road intersection. It is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Lexington is about a 60-mile drive northeast from uptown Charlotte.

This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 8:44 AM with the headline "Missing 12-year-old girl found 2 days later at Dollar General, NC sheriff says."