Missing sisters found safe after 3 years, Pennsylvania cops say. Mom now charged

Two sisters who went missing over three years ago have been found safe, and their mother is facing charges, Pennsylvania police said.

Hanna Lee and Skye Rex were 7 and 5 years old when they were reported missing on March 17, 2020, the Waynesboro Police Department said in an April 19 news release. They were last seen two days earlier at a Waynesboro home.

Authorities believed the girls were taken by their mother, Lashada Lee, who does not have legal custody of either child.

It’s not clear where the girls or their mother have been since their disappearance, though investigators previously thought they were in or near Washington, D.C., WHTM reported.

Lee turned herself in at the Waynesboro police station on Wednesday, Chief James Sourbier told WHP.

“The simple fact of the matter is, right now, what I care about is that the children are safe and that she is in custody and will be held to account for the crimes that she has been charged with,” Sourbier told the outlet.

Lee is being held in custody until her arraignment, and the girls are in the care of child welfare officials pending a hearing, police said.

The father of the girls, John Rex, said he is “grateful for everyone’s support in helping us get to this day,” according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

“Time froze three ago when my beautiful girls were suddenly taken from my life,” Rex said. “I’m overjoyed and now focusing on getting the girls back home with me. I ask for privacy at this time as we navigate the coming days.”

This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Missing sisters found safe after 3 years, Pennsylvania cops say. Mom now charged."