A Powell teenager who was reported missing Sunday after reportedly leaving home to meet someone she met online was found safe Monday morning in Minnesota, near the South Dakota state line.
Amelia “Milly” Jones was located around 9:30 a.m. Monday after law-enforcement officers tracked her vehicle traveling east on Interstate 90.
According to a social media post shared by her mother, Shana Klassen, the teenager had left Powell on Sunday in a red and white 1996 Ford F-250 pickup, accompanied by her red and white border collieTimber.
Park County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Monte McClain told Cowboy State Daily the department received a report of the missing teenager around 5 p.m. Sunday.
McClain said Minnesota was not Jones' intended final destination but declined to elaborate.
“We received notification from the Minnesota State Police that they had stopped the vehicle,” McClain said.
Jones was found safe, and her family traveled to Minnesota to bring her home, he said.
Klassen declined to discuss the incident with Cowboy State Daily, saying her family had endured a difficult ordeal and was requesting privacy.
“She is safe. We are thankful to all the people and agencies that assisted us during this time,” Klassen said.
Tracked Across State Lines
According to Tea Storm Chasers, a South Dakota news organization, law-enforcement agencies in multiple states coordinated efforts to locate Jones after she was reported missing.
License-plate readers detected her pickup traveling eastbound on I-90 near mile marker 398, in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, area, at approximately 9:20 a.m. Monday.
With that information, deputies positioned themselves along I-90 in Minnesota, anticipating the vehicle would continue east.
A deputy with the Rock County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota spotted a pickup matching the description and confirmed with dispatch that its license plate matched the vehicle authorities were seeking.
The vehicle was stopped, and Jones was safely located.
According to Tea Storm Chasers, she was taken to a local law-enforcement center to await her family's arrival from Wyoming.
She was missing for less than 24 hours.
Calls to the Minnesota State Patrol were not returned before publication.
A Mother's Plea
As authorities searched for Jones, her family and friends turned to social media to spread word of her disappearance.
In a social media post Monday, Klassen described her daughter as last seen wearing a black Def Leppard T-shirt, black capri leggings and Converse shoes.
Family friend Brittany Jackson also shared information about the missing teenager, reporting that Jones did not have her phone with her.
The posts sought help locating Jones as she traveled hundreds of miles from home.
Klassen owns Lazy L Ranch Tack Store in Powell, a business that had been operating for nearly a year and a half as of September 2025, according to a Powell Tribune article.
McClain did not provide additional details about the person Jones reportedly intended to meet or where she was ultimately headed.
For Klassen and her family, the news that Jones had been found brought an end to an anxious overnight search that stretched across multiple states.
The family has asked for privacy as they reunite.
No charges have been filed, according to McClain.
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
