Jashyah Moore, 14, described by prosecutors as "an extremely resilient and resourceful young lady," had been physically abused for years according to a criminal complaint against her mother.
"The young lady appears to have run away and did not want to make herself known to anyone where she was. She seemed to be more at ease where she was," acting Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens said.
The FBI had joined the search for 14-year-old Jashyah Moore, who had disappeared in mid-October from a local deli. She was being returned to NJ shortly, police said.
An employee in February 2019 used heroin in the company's parking lot in East Orange and later crashed the bus he was driving, with 12 special-needs children on board, into the wall of a building, authorities said.