BENTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A 14-year-old girl who was missing from Benton County since mid-March has been found safe.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office reported on Thursday, March 23 that Aaliyah Whitehead has been located in Benton County. She was reunited with her mother and father before she was taken to an area hospital to be evaluated.

Whitehead’s mother, Alicia Laster, spoke with News 2 about her personal nightmare while Whitehead was missing.

“No one thinks that their kid is going to be missing. We all think that’s just a TV thing, and my mind starts to go to the worst.”

She described Whitehead as just “a normal, typical 14-year-old” with a love for music, art, fashion and helping people.

However, not long before her disappearance, Laster said she and her husband had started to have some concerns about their daughter’s well-being.

Instead, Laster said they were told “just to keep an eye on her and make sure there was nothing she could harm herself with.” Laster said she was “terrified” when she realized Whitehead had run away from home on Monday, March 13.

Her husband called the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, and deputies began searching the neighborhood for Whitehead only about 15 minutes after Laster realized she was gone. However, there was no sign of her anywhere.

Shortly after joining in the search, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) issued an Endangered Child Alert, which Laster said was partly because of the dropping temperatures, reaching below freezing on some nights.

Laster also shared a message for her daughter.

“Aaliyah, if you’re listening right now, please know that we love you more than anything and we want you to come home,” Laster said. “Anything can be worked out if you just come home. Your brothers need you. Your dad and I need you, and we miss you.”