"They were kind enough to buy her a meal," Wessling said.
Ashley Miller, a Wendy's employee, said a woman came in the restaurant "saying that the girl was lost and had run across the street."
Miller, who is expecting, said the child was upset and scared.
"She said her name was Emily and she didn't know where her parents was at. She said she walked from Middletown to here."
The couple "stuck around with her," Miller said. "They bought her a kid's meal. They was really nice people."
They stayed with Emily until the Miamisburg officer came and took the girl home.
"Everything seemed to be fine, physically," Wessling said. Emily had not been harmed.
The restaurant is about four miles from her home on Maple Hill Drive, said Wessling, who noted, "At this point in time it does look like she did walk that distance."
Wessling said West Carrollton police were dispatched at about 4:40 p.m. on a report of a missing juvenile female. News Center 7 and other media were contacted by police to help get out word about the missing girl, he said. The child's mother told police she last saw her daughter playing in the front yard of the family home.
Emily's parents were kept at home by police to coordinate the investigation.
"We're not seeing anything as far as foul play or any kind of kidnapping situation," Wessling said. "It possibly could be a runaway type situation. It's still too early to tell."
Wessling said the unusual nature of the incident has prompted police to continue their investigation into what happened.
"With an 8-year-old coming up missing, it does raise questions," he said. "It looks like she walked out of the home. Why is still under investigation."
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