GA Amy Reidling, 14, missing in DeKalb County; may have been lured by someone she met online - Sep 2025

[Clearsky]

Missing 14-Year-Old Girl's Family Believes She Was Lured Away from Home After Meeting Somebody Online: 'This Is a Nightmare'

The family of a missing girl, 14, in Georgia believes she may have vanished after being lured away from home after meeting somebody online. 'This is a nightmare,' Amy Reidling's stepmother told 11Alive.

people.com

Amy Reidling's stepmother, Ginny Rutledge, discovered the teen was missing from their DeKalb County home on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 21, according to NBC affiliate 11Alive.

 

[GraceG]

So far it's might have been lured away, it doesn't appear there's any evidence, just the fear that it's a possibility. One question, the article says she lives with her Dad and StepMom. Is her Mom still alive or in the picture? I'm thinking she might she have had a minor disagreement with her parents (at 14, not uncommon) and sought out her Mom?

Also, this article says the family stated she does not have a phone. If so, then how can calls to her "go straight to voicemail?"

DeKalb County 14-year-old missing as scared family fears she was lured online, taken by strangers

Teenager Amy Reidling disappeared on Sunday, Sept 21. in DeKalb County. Her family believes she was deceived online by an adult pretending to be a teenager.

www.11alive.com

 

[borndem]

Did she have a phone but did not take it where she went, perhaps?

Apparently there are some type messages.
Hoping for good news soon.
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Saw this in People Magazine:
"No one's messages have been read. Every time we call, it goes straight to voicemail."

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Missing 14-Year-Old Girl's Family Believes She Was Lured Away from Home After Meeting Somebody Online: 'This Is a Nightmare'

The family of a missing girl, 14, in Georgia believes she may have vanished after being lured away from home after meeting somebody online. 'This is a nightmare,' Amy Reidling's stepmother told 11Alive.

people.com

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[ChatteringBirds]

I have seen this case posted on social media twice now; thank you for starting a thread. Rooting for her to be located safe today.

 

[Ms. Fletcher]

Definitely confusing information regarding whether she has a phone or some kind of device. I'm assuming any devices that she may have had access to recently are being/have been looked at.

 

[Warwick7]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1970956458842841346

"Amy, we love you, we miss you, we want you here. That’s why you’re here. I love you, my girl, you’re my person. I miss you. Please come back. Please let us know you’re okay if you can. Be safe. Fight hard. Fight hard."

(I'm a little confused, it says Amy has no phone and very little money. But, yet the parents said Amy has been silent on social media, and every call to her goes straight to voicemail. So does she have a phone or not??)

 

[GraceG]

Has anyone seen any direct statements from either biological parent? All I've seen is the stepmother's statement. The fact she went missing after shopping for homecoming was a red flag for me. Something she would ahve been really looking forward to, not when I'd think she'd flee if she was contemplating it IMO. Was there a disagreement over the dress? I remember well a fight I had with my Mom when she wouldn't let me buy the prom dress I wanted because it was "too revealing", We compromised and all was well, but at 14 anything can be drama, (I have teen granddaughters Was there a spat and she ran to a friends or to her Mom? I sure hope so. The thought of being groomed online is terrifying but always a possibility today.

 

[Leilei]

Has anyone seen any direct statements from either biological parent? All I've seen is the stepmother's statement. The fact she went missing after shopping for homecoming was a red flag for me. Something she would ahve been really looking forward to, not when I'd think she'd flee if she was contemplating it IMO. Was there a disagreement over the dress? I remember well a fight I had with my Mom when she wouldn't let me buy the prom dress I wanted because it was "too revealing", We compromised and all was well, but at 14 anything can be drama, (I have teen granddaughters Was there a spat and she ran to a friends or to her Mom? I sure hope so. The thought of being groomed online is terrifying but always a possibility today.

There have been media interviews from both, according to dad's FB.
IMO.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

People are leaving thoughtless comments on social media. (This case is all over the one other social media I have.) Her poor parents. This is no one's fault, except the person she's with (if that's what happened).

I really hope she's not with a violent predatory person. Often teens are found safe, and I will think positive.

 

[otto]

Confusing. She was shopping for a special event she wanted to attend. Stepmother thinks she was lured by an online predator. Was something said during the shopping trip that led the stepmother to believe there was a secret admirer?

 

[otto]

• Morning Sept 21: shopping for dress accessories
• 2 PM Sept 21: home alone ???
• After supper Sept 21: "I opened the door and she was gone"; stepmother returned home after dinner date
• 9:15 PM Sept 21: stepmom called police

After stepmom tore the house apart, did she contact Amy's school friends, or other family members?

Did 14 year old Amy need online coaching about how to run away from home when she was excitedly getting ready to attend a dance? Why would she want to run away from home?

"Amy Reidling, 14, was last seen at her home near Janet Lane and Glenwood Road on Sunday, Sept. 21, in the city of Decatur around 2 p.m. local time.

Earlier that day, Amy had been shopping for accessories to match her homecoming dress for the upcoming dance.

According to local news outlet 11Alive, her stepmother, Ginny Rutledge, found out she was missing that evening when coming back from dinner.
“I opened the door, and she was gone. Tore the house apart, called 911 at 9:15 [p.m.],” Rutledge told the station. “No one’s messages have been read. Every time we call, it goes straight to voicemail.”

... family also said the person may have coached her on how to run away from home.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/missing/missing-georgia-girl-amy-riedling-lured/

Google Map

 

[otto]

It sounds like the family believes that Amy was "coached to run away", and then "she was taken".

I don't understand the "cliché" comment. Any thoughts on what that means?

"Her stepmom, Rutledge, told the station, "This is a nightmare ... it's cliché and everything, it'll happen, but here we are."

"I opened the door, and she was gone. Tore the house apart, called 911 at 9:15 [p.m.]," she said. ...

Amy's dad and stepmom have since hired a private investigator ..."Everybody's been stomping the streets, putting up fliers."

"I'm positive that she was taken … Amy, we love you, we miss you. We want you here. That's why you're here. We wanted you here. You're my girl, you're my person. I miss you. Please come back," she continued.

"Please let us know you're okay if you can. Be safe, fight hard," Rutledge told her stepdaughter."

Missing 14-Year-Old Girl's Family Believes She Was Lured Away from Home After Meeting Somebody Online: 'This Is a Nightmare'

The family of a missing girl, 14, in Georgia believes she may have vanished after being lured away from home after meeting somebody online. 'This is a nightmare,' Amy Reidling's stepmother told 11Alive.

people.com

 

[tlcya]

lured seems a quick leap to make if no evidence (online chat history) is present to support that. Given she was preparing for a happy event she seemed excited about, I would think as a parent I might lean towards abduction from the home or another possibility before suspecting lured. JMO

 

[otto]

lured seems a quick leap to make if no evidence (online chat history) is present to support that. Given she was preparing for a happy event she seemed excited about, I would think as a parent I might lean towards abduction from the home or another possibility before suspecting lured. JMO

My thoughts exactly - gigantic leap to assume that the 14 year old wanted to run away, that she needed coaching to know how to run away, and that an online stranger provided her with that information before she was kidnapped.

Was the home investigated as a crime scene? Regardless of what the stepmother thinks, if she vanished from home, then that is the first crime scene.

 

[Ms. Fletcher]

While being lured away by a predator is one of the worst case scenarios here, I'd also be concerned that she met with something unfortunate if she was just out for a walk or a quick trip to a friend's that evening.

The area she lives in isn't the best regarding safety for a 14 year old out alone in the evenings. My late grandmother's house was just a few blocks away on Brenda Drive. I lived across the street for a while when I was very young. But it isn't the neighborhood it was back then.

 

[Leilei]

Cody Alcorn is reporting that she has been found - waiting for local media to catch up.
He reports that LE is working to reunite her with her dad and step-mother.
IMO.

ETA that he dad has confirmed this on his FB page.

 

[Ms. Fletcher]

Cody Alcorn is reporting that she has been found - waiting for local media to catch up.
He reports that LE is working to reunite her with her dad and step-mother.
IMO.

ETA that he dad has confirmed this on his FB page.

That is so good to hear! I pray she is unharmed!

 

[tlcya]

My thoughts exactly - gigantic leap to assume that the 14 year old wanted to run away, that she needed coaching to know how to run away, and that an online stranger provided her with that information before she was kidnapped.

Was the home investigated as a crime scene? Regardless of what the stepmother thinks, if she vanished from home, then that is the first crime scene.

I am wondering if Amy and her stepmom had a difference of opinion over the accessories being purchased for the big dance. Maybe she was upset and stepmom failed to pick up on that?

 

[otto]

While being lured away by a predator is one of the worst case scenarios here, I'd also be concerned that she met with something unfortunate if she was just out for a walk or a quick trip to a friend's that evening.

The area she lives in isn't the best regarding safety for a 14 year old out alone in the evenings. My late grandmother's house was just a few blocks away on Brenda Drive. I lived across the street for a while when I was very young. But it isn't the neighborhood it was back then.

Kidnapped from her house, kidnapped from her front yard? No. The family believes an online predator coached her on how to run away on the same day that she was buying dress accessories for her upcoming dance.

What would that online coaching look like? It's 2 PM on a Sunday. Sneak out the back door, run fast ... ? I must be missing something.

 

[tlcya]

hoping to hear official confirmation but what I am seeing leads me to believe Cody Alcorn is correct.