Missing Indiana woman last seen in San Diego nearly a month ago found safe

Lateche Norris thanks public for their concern, police say

A 20-year-old Indiana woman who vanished in California nearly a month ago has turned up safe, the San Diego Police Department says. 

After detectives located Lateche Norris, they met her in-person over the weekend and determined that she "was not and is not the victim of any crime," the department added in a statement, noting that Norris also "thanked the public for their concern and asked for privacy." 

Norris had flown across the country last month for what she believed would be a few days of "roughing it" on a California beach with her boyfriend Joseph Smith, her mother previously wrote on social media. 

A screengrab shows Lateche Norris at a 7-Eleven in San Diego on Nov. 4. (7-Eleven/San Diego Police)

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She found him at a homeless encampment and they got into a fight, according to Cheryl Walker, her mom. Days later, Norris had disappeared. 

Prior to her discovery over the weekend, Norris was last seen with her boyfriend at a 7-Eleven store near Petco Park on Nov. 4. 

Norris last spoke with her family the next day, when her mom said she received a call from a strange number. 

Lateche Norris had last been seen at a San Diego 7-Eleven on Nov. 4 with boyfriend Joseph Smith. (Facebook)

"The last words my daughter said were, ‘I will Momma, I promise I love you more.’" Walker wrote on Facebook. On Nov. 9. Walker reported her daughter missing. 

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California authorities have declined to release a criminal history for Smith, citing the state’s Public Records Act. 

Details about where Norris was between Nov. 4 until recently were not disclosed by investigators. 

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf contributed to this report. 

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