'Endangered' Teen Missing Since November Recovered; Police Arrest Her Boyfriend in Relation to Disappearance

A teenaged girl who went missing in late November has been safely recovered, and police have arrested her boyfriend in relation to her disappearance.

On January 2, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department in South Carolina took to Facebook to reveal that they were searching for 16-year-old Mackenzie Dalton, who they described as being “endangered.”

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Per the statement, Dalton “left her Lexington home in last November,” and police believed that she was “traveling with a man she knows.”

“The car she drove away in and the suitcase she took from home have been recovered,” the statement read.

Days later, the sheriff’s office released an updated statement confirming that the teen had been found and was “safe.”

“We have no reason to believe Dalton was ever held against her will or with someone she didn’t want to be with,” the statement read.

Continuing, it read, “We have arrested Mackenzie Keith English Jr., 18, in connection with this case. He is charged with obstruction of justice. He is accused of lying to investigators about being with Dalton and his knowledge of her location.”

In a statement shared with Just Jared, a spokesperson for the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that English was Dalton’s boyfriend.

“He has since also been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor,” the spokesperson said.

Per the Sheriff’s Department, English was being held at the Lexington County Detention Center.