Missing teen couple contacts family members

Posted at 11:30 AM, Jan 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-30 21:15:40-05

Two teens who were being sought out by their family and police have contacted their loved ones to tell them they are safe, with food and shelter, police said. 

The Phoenix Police Department said the teens are not believed to be in any danger and they are now considered runaways. 

Jared Smith, 16, and Natalie Marion, 17, disappeared Sunday night. Police began searching for the pair with concerns that their vehicle may have broken down while they were out in the wilderness. 

They left Jared's dad's house in east Mesa around 9:45 p.m. Several hours later, Jared called a friend asking for a tent. Then, the two teens disappeared. 

Their parents say the pair wouldn't have run away without a word to anyone. 

Natalie had gone shopping for a prom dress over the weekend, and she was planning to visit her older sister in New York in a few weeks for her 18th birthday. The young couple has been gone so long police think they may be in danger.

The parents of the teens were distraught as they went to a local copy store to print a thousand fliers on Friday. Their families, friends, and coworkers are distributing the fliers across the Phoenix metro area and in campgrounds across Arizona.

It's not clear why the teens chose to run away.