Gwinnett County teen missing for over 1 year found in Tennessee

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A missing Gwinnett County teen has been found safe over a year after she disappeared from her home in Buford.

Officials say 17-year-old Asata Amun has been in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services for months.

The backstory:

According to officials, Amun had been missing since Feb. 1, 2024, after she was caught on doorbell video running out the front door of her residence on Westoak Court in Buford. She did not take any personal items with her.

The day before her disappearance, Asata was disciplined by school administrators, which detectives believe may have contributed to her sudden departure. 

Asata's family said they were deeply concerned over her disappearance and said that she did not say anything about running away before she vanished.

For months, investigators have been working to find the teen, sending out requests for information in the hopes someone would be able to locate her and get her back safely.

"We really started becoming concerned about the length of time that she had been missing. So, we had done some in-depth investigation work on this case but really had come up with very little to work on," said Sgt. Jennifer Richter, supervisor of Gwinnett Police Department's Special Victim's Unit. "I had been personally, gravely worried about her safety at this point. And week to week I have been posting her on social media and our stories and just wondering where she might be."

What we know:

On Monday, the Gwinnett County Police Department said that a teen who had been in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services since February 2024 had been identified as Amun.

According to investigators, Amun had been using an alias after she was taken into their custody. A breakthrough happened when a case manager noticed inconsistencies in her story that led officials to look into missing children in Georgia.

"That was definitely great work on behalf of the Department of Family, Children's Services of Tennessee. That they were willing to look into it further and see what they could find out, that was really, really great," Richter said. 

Asata Amun (Gwinnett County Police Department)

What's next:

Officials are now working to transfer Amun into the custody of the Georgia Department of Family & Children Services.

Richter says they don't know whether Amun will be returned to her father or her mother, who lives in Connecticut. 

The investigation into her disappearance remains active.

If you have any information that could help with the investigation, contact the Gwinnett County Police Department.

By the numbers:

FOX 5 first reported in August how Gwinnett County police was working to bring more awareness to the dozens of cases of missing teens in the county on social media.

Richter says they get anywhere from 400 to 450 reports of missing children each year.

Most of them are found within a couple of days. 

"Some of them, we don't know where they are. But they're not in a place where we think that they are safe...we have about 11 this year that we still have outstanding, which is fairly low, but it is only March. And then we have about 19 from last year that we're still looking for," Richter said. 

You can view their posts about these missing kids on Facebook. If you know where any of these teenagers are you're asked to contact the Gwinnett County Police Department at 770-513-5480.