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Reggie Miller’s niece Nikki returned home on Sept. 30 hours after her uncle tweeted she has gone missing.
Reggie Miller‘s niece is home safe and sound.
Nikki Miller returned hours after her uncle Reggie Miller, the Hall of Fame guard who spent his entire 18-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers, tweeted she went missing on Sept. 30, per ESPN:
“Reggie Miller’s teenage niece is back home, hours after the former NBA great and TV analyst asked the public for help looking for her when she went missing from her Southern California home.
“The former Pacers star thanked those who helped find 16-year-old Nikki Miller after her disappearance sparked a police search in Yorba Linda.
Happy to let everyone know that my niece, Nikki Miller is home. Thank you to everyone who sent prayers n thoughts, they were answered.— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) September 30, 2014
“Nikki Miller’s bedroom was found empty at 7:17 a.m. local time and her relatives alerted authorities after they realized the teenager was missing. Officers immediately dispatched to the scene found no evidence that led them to conclude she was taken from the house against her will, Roche said.
“Police told ABC News that Miller might have been picked up by a car or a block away from her home.
“‘There was absolutely no evidence or any signs or evidence to lead us to believe this was anything other than a teenage runaway,’ Orange County Sheriff’s Office Office spokesman Lt. John Roche said.
“Miller had earlier tweeted out a flyer with a photo of his niece to his 600,000 followers, asking people to contact police with any information. According to ABC News, police even used tracking dogs to look at her.
“‘There are some indicators that lead us to believe she actually had set up her room in a manner that would fool someone to believe she was still there,’ Roche said.”
The Los Angeles Times’ Emily Foxhall and Rosanna Xia also confirmed Nikki Miller’s safe return:
“The 16-year-old niece of former NBA star Reggie Miller has safely returned home, Orange County sheriff’s officials said Monday evening.
“Earlier, Miller and others were circulating a ‘missing child alert’ for the television basketball analyst’s niece, who was reported missing from her Yorba Linda home Monday.
#NBA Ex-Pacer Miller’s niece found after alert issued http://t.co/VoIgFTxqj4— NBA NEWS (@247NBA) September 30, 2014
“Sheriff’s officials said they believed the 16-year-old had intentionally run away. She returned home about 9 p.m. Monday, authorities said.
“The teen’s room was found empty about 7:15 a.m., and a call was placed to authorities.
“Investigators and officers with bloodhounds responded to the scene but found no evidence that led them to believe she was taken against her will, Lt. John Roche said earlier in the day.
“‘Nothing lets us believe that anything bad happened,’ he said.
“‘As with most teenagers, when they get hungry or run out of money, they want to come home,’ Roche said.
“The sheriff’s department had not issued an official release when Miller tweeted the alert to his nearly 600,000 followers late Monday afternoon.
“It described Nikki Miller as 6 feet tall and 150 pounds, with dark hair and brown eyes.
“Within an hour, it had been re-tweeted more than 7,500 times.
“Miller is a former UCLA and NBA star who, like his sister Cheryl, played on the U.S. Olympic basketball team. Both are also basketball analysts. Miller’s brother, Darrell, played baseball with the (then-California) Angels.”
Miller averaged 18.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists during his playing days with the Indiana Pacers, per ESPN stats.
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