Missing Forest Lake girl found safe two months after disappearance

22 July 2023

The Forest Lake girl who has been missing for more than two months was found safe on Friday, police said.

Desiray Kappes, 14, who had not been seen leaving her home on her bicycle on May 19, was “found healthy” and is cooperating with investigators, according to a news release prepared by Forest Lake Police Chief Rick Peterson.

The Forest Lake Police Department canceled its missing-person alert for Desiray at 10:23 p.m. Friday.

“The Forest Lake Police Department is grateful for the numerous law enforcement agencies, organizations, and those with information who have assisted in locating Desiray,” Peterson wrote in the release. “Due to the ongoing investigation, further information may not be available throughout the weekend. Any additional information will be provided by the Forest Lake Police Department.”

Desiray, who turned 14 on May 3, left her Forest Lake home on her bicycle around 8:30 a.m. May 19, according to surveillance camera footage from a nearby house. She left a note saying she was going to be “traveling around the United States with her boyfriend,” her mother, Miranda “Mandi” Lufsky, told the Pioneer Press in June. “I don’t know of any boyfriend. She didn’t have a boyfriend.”

Desiray, who is homeschooled, took her black cat, Cosmo, with her when she left.

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