Rosie O'Donnell Says Daughter Has Been Found Safe

Rosie O’Donnell’s missing 17-year-old daughter has been found safe, the entertainment personality said on Twitter, one week after the teen was last seen at the family's New York home. 

O'Donnell tweeted shortly before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday that "chelsea has been found safe and is safe in police custody - thank u all for the help and light #missingchildren." 

Chelsea O’Donnell had been last seen at her Rockland County home on Aug. 11, Rosie O'Donnell said on her website earlier in the day. South Nyack police were alerted that she was missing on Sunday, and they had been searching for her since. She apparently left the home with her 6-month-old therapy puppy, a 9-pound black terrier named Bear.

South Nyack Police Sgt. Daniel Wilson said Chelsea had been contacting people with a new cellphone and police believed she was in Barnegat Light down the Jersey Shore. They reached out to authorities there, and Barnegat police went to the home. 

Although the person answering the door initially did not want to reveal Chelsea's presence, police said they would not be leaving until she came out, according to Lt. Keith Germain, spokesman for Barnegat police. She then appeared with her dog and left with police without incident. 

She waited to be picked up by South Nyack police at the Barnegat Township Police Department, and left the New Jersey police station late Tuesday night, out of sight of news cameras. 

"Rosie is very happy, very relieved, and we're keeping her up to date as events unfold," said Wilson. "She was definitely relieved and appreciative of the efforts." 

"Rosie wants to thank everyone for their help, especially the South Nyack, NY and Barneget Light, NJ police departments," Cindi Berger, a representative for Rosie O'Donnell, said in a statement to NBC 4 New York.

It was not immediately clear what relationship O'Donnell had with the people who lived in the Barnegat house. Rosie O'Donnell has a vacation home in the New Jersey shore area.

In an earlier statement issued during the ongoing search for the girl, Berger said that Chelsea, "like millions of people, lives with mental illness. It has been a difficult road for Chelsea and her family and they just want her back safe."

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Chelsea was in need of medical attention and had not been taking her medication, O'Donnell's website said. The medication is for mental illness, police say, though it's not clear which one she suffers from. 

Several calls from unknown numbers came into the Rockland County home this week, but Chelsea O'Donnell did not have her cellphone with her, police said. She had never run away for an extended period of time, according to authorities. 

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Police had said the teenager may be in New York City, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley or the Rockland County area. 

Rosie O'Donnell tweeted photos of her missing daughter Tuesday afternoon. One tweet early Tuesday featured the caption "dude was asking for u today .... dude #urFAMILY #call."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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