Weeks After Mom's Murder, 5-Year-Old Is Found

The saga of a missing 5-year-old girl from South Carolina has ended with police finding her in a different state. Police located Aspen Jeter in Danville, Virginia, with her father, Antar Jeter, 47, reports WIS-TV. Antar Jeter has been charged with murdering the girl's mother, Crystal Jumper, in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Authorities discovered her body on Thanksgiving Day while conducting a welfare check after she had not been heard from since Nov. 1, per NBC News.

"Aspen is fine, and—she’s OK," said Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell. "Thank god for that." Police say they tracked down Antar Jeter, 47, because of financial transactions he made in Virginia, and he was arrested without incident in a hospital parking lot. Aspen was being transferred to the care of relatives. Police say her 46-year-old mother was shot to death in the home the three shared. Family members say Aspen suffers from a rare disorder known as Neurodevelopmental Disorder with or without Autistic Features and/or Structural Brain Abnormalities, and is unable to speak. (More missing person stories.)