A week after a 16-year-old girl went missing with her former high school wrestling coach, the two were found together at a home in Stockton, California, the same town where the teen lives, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.
Alexus Arther, a junior at Franklin High School, is safe and back with her family while Phillip Maglaya, 25, a former volunteer wrestling coach at Franklin High School, is in custody, authorities said.
Alexus, who had been reported missing on Aug. 22, was believed to be in a “romantic relationship” with Maglaya, according to the sheriff’s office.
One day before the two were found, Alexus’ parents opened up to ABC News in an emotional interview.
“This is a father’s worst nightmare,” father Ron Arther said.
“We trusted him,” Iris Arther, Alexus’ mom, added of the coach.
When the teen went missing, her distraught parents found a note from her left behind.
“The first page says, ‘I love you Mom and Dad, very much, nothing that you guys did was your fault,'” Iris Arther recalled, crying.
Ron Arther said he went through his daughter’s phone log and saw numerous calls to coach Maglaya — so he called him.
Ron Arther said he asked the coach if he’d seen his daughter, and that the coach replied, “I talked to her yesterday, she was asking about dieting and nutrition and workout programs.”
“On the day that she left she sent us an email at like 4:54 a.m., saying, ‘I’m safe, please don’t worry, I love you guys I’ll keep in touch.'”
“I feel so helpless,” her distraught father said.
Ron Arther said he then received a text from his daughter Tuesday that read, “Don’t worry about me I’m safe I’m at a friend’s house. I’ll talk to you guys again soon I love you, Mom and Dad.”
The coach was an unpaid volunteer who “worked at the high school for several weeks last winter,” “but did pass background checks,” the Stockton Unified School District said in a statement.
“He had advised the school he would not be returning this year,” the school district said.
ABC News’ Lisa Sivertsen contributed to this report.
