HAMBURG TOWNSHIP, Mich. – An Amber Alert for a 7-year-old Hamburg Township girl and her mother has been canceled, according to Michigan State Police.
They have been found safe in Florida. Local 4 spoke with 30-year-old Amanda Elizabeth Hayward on Thursday evening. She and her daughter, Sapphire Elizabeth Palmer, had not been seen or heard from since Monday.
“We are more than OK,” Amanda Hayward said. “We’re fine."
According to the alert issued Thursday morning, Hayward was suffering from an apparent mental episode.
"She is paranoid, delusional and may be armed," the alert said.
Hayward told Local 4 there was no reason for an Amber Alert.
"People have been contacted to let them know we are fine," Hayward said. "There is no reason for an Amber alert to be out."
Mother says she was not traveling with anyone other than daughter
Police said they believed Sapphire and her mother were with Douglas Stanko, a registered sex offender. Hayward told Local 4 she was not traveling with anyone other than her daughter.
"Nope, I am not traveling with anybody," she said. “No one has touched her and no one has harmed her."
However, Hamburg Police Chief Richard Duffany said Stanko’s roommate saw the three together.
“It strikes kind of close to my heart. I have six children. Knowing that there is a 7-year-old girl out there, and not knowing what condition she’s in, what kind of environment she’s in," Duffany said. "On a personal level it is very concerning to me. On a professional level, we want to locate both of them and make sure they’re both OK.”
Hayward was due in court this week to testify against an ex-boyfriend who is accused of beating her, but she missed it.
ALSO SEE: How do police decide to issue an AMBER Alert?
Purse found along road
Hayward’s purse was found on the side of the road several miles from her residence hours after their disappearance.
The purse contained credit cards and cash.
Paranoia and deteriorated mental health
Hayward had been recently suffering from paranoia and her mental health had severely deteriorated over the last two weeks, according to her father, Darryl Hayward.
“She woke me up and pounded on stuff,” Darryl Hayward said. “She was thinking that someone was watching her or listening.”
At one point, Amanda Hayward dumped electronics and toys in the bathtub to destroy the cameras and microphones she believed were watching her.
"I just want them back home safe," Darryl Hayward said.