Cops reveal horrifying and sordid ordeal of vulnerable girl, 17, who vanished after walking alone down quiet road at midnight

A vulnerable 17 year-old girl who vanished in May got engaged to a 44 year-old stranger she met on the street, police have revealed. 

Penelope 'Penny' Wise, 17, was found safe on Sunday after she was last seen on May 31 leaving her home in Rockford on her bike. 

Investigators have since determined that she had met a 44-year-old man from the area the day after she went missing, and then lived at his home until she was found. 

According to detectives, the man was a complete stranger to the teenager and Wise, who suffered from mental illness, had agreed to marry the man. 

Police said that Wise had left her home after a 'disagreement' with her parents, she was caught on camera 5 miles from her home later that evening. 

Her mother Mishael and her father David have since spoken to 13 ON YOUR SIDE, saying it was a relief knowing she was now safe. 

Mishael told the outlet: 'It's surreal knowing that she's been found. We still haven't been able to lay eyes on her, so I think once we're able to actually see her it will sink in even more.

'We are very relieved that she's been found.'

While her father David said that the family were still trying to come to grips with her being found. 

He said: 'It’s still so fresh at this point that we haven't even really been able to come to grips with this is actually happening in a good way.

'We've had months and months of this happening to us, but now all of a sudden, she's been found and it still has a little bit to sink in on its own yet.'

Police in Michigan have said that the teenager is in their custody as their investigation continues. It remains unclear what has happened to the 44-year-old.

He has not been identified, with the age of consent in Michigan set at 16. 

Despite the family having a rule against the use of phones, her parents discovered she had hidden one before she vanished 

Her parents said that she had left the house briefly before but never for more than a few hours. 

After she disappeared, a $1,000 reward was offered for anyone who knew of her whereabouts. 

Five weeks into the case, Kent County Undersheriff Bryan Muir turned to the local community to aid in his search for Wise.

He previously said: 'We have 750 plus people at the sheriff's office, but obviously, right here in Kent County alone, we have 680,000 people that can be our eyes and ears for a case like this.'