UPDATE – Missing Lafayette Teen Found

April17, 2012 UPDATE: Corporal Paul Mouton with the Lafayette Police Department says 14-year-old Madison Bourque has been found and is in the process of being returned to her family.

Mouton says she was found locally and that she did not make it to the Baton Rouge area. Mouton says she ran away from home. No other details are being released.

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April 16, 2012 UPDATE: The Lafayette teenager missing since Thursday is believed to be in the Baton Rouge area.

Corporal Paul Mouton with the Lafayette Police Department says 14-year-old Madison Bourque left her home Thursday some time between 12:30 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Anyone with information is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers at 232-TIPS.

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April 15, 2012: A 14 year-old Lafayette girl has been missing since Thursday, and her family is asking for your help.

Madison  Claire  Bourque, a student at Lafayette High School, went missing some time in the early morning hours of April 12th. She has brown hair and eyes, is 5’7″ and weighs 130 lbs.

The family is concerned for her well-being and is asking anyone with information on her whereabouts to call 911.

The National Runaway Switchboard, whose mission is to help keep America’s runaway, homeless and at-risk youth safe and off the streets, states that between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth run away in a year.  The gender is split 50/50, with females being more likely to seek help from a shelter or hotline.

If you are a teenager considering running away from home, the NRS wants to help you be safe and do what you think is best for you.  They offer conference calling, live chat and even the Home Free process offered through NRS’s partnership with Greyhound Lines.  Call 1-800-RUNAWAY.

If you are a parent with a runaway child, the NRS is there to listen and to connect you with other resources for handling your situation.  1-800-RUNAWAY.  Help is that close.

Safe Place is another organization with resources for runaways.  Their mission is to provide access to immediate help and supportive resources for all young people in crisis through a network of sites sustained by qualified agencies, trained volunteers and businesses.  (nationalsafeplace.org)

Again, if you have any information that can help the family of Madison Claire Bourque  reach her, please call 911.