Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, and the FBI are searching for a 16-year-old girl who was last seen leaving home under mysterious circumstances.
Jholie Moussa left home in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County on Friday, Jan. 12 after telling her twin sister she was going to a party in Norfolk, nearly 200 miles away.
Her family reported her missing the next day, and the FBI joined the investigation four days later, on Jan. 17.
The day Jholie Moussa disappeared, she seemed distracted after classes at Mount Vernon High School, her twin, Zhane Moussa, said.
"She was doing my hair and then she stopped, for a good minute, to text some more. Then, out of nowhere, she was like, 'I gotta go, I gotta go!'" she said.
Jholie Moussa told her sister she needed to go out for a minute. Zhane Moussa sent her a concerned text and got an odd response.
"She texted me that she was going to Norfolk," Zhane Moussa said. "And I'm, like, isn't that more than 3 hours away?"
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Later that night, the girls' mother, Syreeta Steward, missed a call from her daughter. Then, she heard nothing. It wasn't like her.
"Normally, she would have responded back to me. If she calls me and I don't answer, she always follows it up with a text," Steward said.
No one in the family has heard from the 16-year-old since.
Jholie Moussa is 5-foot-2 and weighs 105 pounds. On her right shoulder, she has a tattoo of an infinity loop with her name and her twin's name. She was last seen with her hair in blond braids. She was wearing a black coat with a fur collar, a plaid shirt, blue jeans and UGG boots.
She was last seen in the 4200 block of Sonia Court about 4:30 p.m. Jan. 12.
Fairfax County police entered her into the National Crime Information Center databased as a runaway juvenile.
"Based on the facts of the case, there is nothing that indicates that Moussa is in any danger," police said in a statement.
An FBI representative said there was not a specific reason why the agency joined the investigation; they had available resources to help.
Meanwhile, her family is frantically searching for her.
Police said detectives have spoken to about 20 people who had recent contact with Jholie Moussa. Many of her friends are not fully cooperating with investigators, they said.
Anyone with information on Jholie Moussa's whereabouts is asked to call Fairfax County police at 703-691-2131, or the FBI at 202-278-2000.
