Missing girls ‘were misled’ through social media — ministry

AMMAN — The 15-year-old girl and her friend who went missing last week and found Tuesday were misled on social media networks by a person who is currently under investigation, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

The person who was found with two girls in Irbid city on Tuesday was referred to the Criminal Court’s prosecution office as part of the probe into the kidnapping of the two girls, according to Khaled Abdel Hadi, the father of one of the two girls, Shaima.

"We are currently at the court. We are waiting for Shaima and her friend [Jumana Oweida] to leave and then go home," Abdel Hadi told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

"My daughter and Jumana are in good health. We do not know anything yet about what happened. All what we know is this person who is being interrogated at present is not a teenager," said the father over the phone on Wednesday.

"We are comfortable that the case is now in the hands of the judiciary. All forensic reports indicated that Shaima and her friend are very well and not harmed," he added.

Shaima and Jumana, 16, were found along with another person in Irbid city, according to the Public Security Department. 

Defying a police account Tuesday, the families of the two girls said their daughters were kidnapped and that the kidnapper had sent them pictures of the two girls handcuffed, but when the parents informed the police about the pictures they were asked not to share them with the media, fearing a threat to the girls’ lives. They described the police statement as insulting. 

In another statement later in the day, the police said it did not mean any insult, but insisted that the girls were not kidnapped and they asked the person in the apartment to take pictures of them while handcuffed to justify their absence.