Sahray Barber disappearance not criminal, police say

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- Police say there was no criminal aspect to the disappearance of Sahray Barber, the San Bernardino art student who was found safe after going missing for more than a week.

The 22-year-old was last seen March 9 after leaving her apartment near the Cal State San Bernardino campus. Her laptop and cellphone were found in the bushes nearby.

Police spoke with persons of interest and spent thousands of dollars and resources in their search. Family and friends held vigils, pleading for her safe return.

"I can tell you without divulging her privacy, she had some stuff going on in her life, and she's asked for that to be private," San Bernardino Police Lt. Rich Lawhead said.

Barber contacted her family Thursday night after seeing media reports on her disappearance, Lawhead said.

Police picked her up somewhere in the Los Angeles area and reunited her with her family.

The family said in a statement, "God has righteously answered all of our prayers in guiding Sahray back to us. For this we are ecstatic and so very thankful. We ask that you respect our privacy and you allow law enforcement to continue their investigation unhindered. A huge worldwide Thank You for all the prayers and support. God Bless!"

Lawhead says investigators are trying to piece together what exactly happened. They believe the two persons of interest intentionally misled them during the search. Those people could be facing fines or charges.

"Not everything adds up here," he said. "There's going to have to be some questions answered."

Police are not saying where Barber has been for the past 10 days but said they are not searching for any suspects.

"This kind of tops the chart right now for kind of strange, especially the direction we were led initially in this case, without saying too much," Lawhead said. "I was shocked yesterday when I got the call."