Missing Oklahoma Girl Found After Amber Alert Issued; Suspect Still at Large

TEXHOMA, Okla. – Marissa Marie Graham was found in New Mexico Friday after she escaped from the back of a car when her kidnapper stopped at a convenience store for gas, officials said.

Oklahoma police issued an Amber Alert for the 10-year-old girl earlier, after she was reported missing in Texhoma in Texas County Thursday night.

"She took the opportunity to bolt from the car and into the convenience store and identify herself as the girl everyone was looking for and give the telephone number for the Texhoma Police Department," said State Amber Alert coordinator Gene Thaxton.

Initial reports said the suspect had been apprehended, but police say he is still at large and the search for him continues. His name was not immediately released.

The suspect is described as a white male, 35-40 years of age with facial hair, a pasty complexion, and possibly brown hair, according to a press release from the Clovis, N.M., Police Deparment.

The vehicle Marissa Graham escaped from is described as a purple, four-door van or SUV, which police are currently seeking.

Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call the Clovis Police Department at (505) 769-1921.

Mike Boring, the district attorney for the Oklahoma Panhandle, told FOX News around 3:45 p.m. EST that officials are "very thrilled" with the outcome of the case. But Boring noted that the investigation is ongoing and urged anyone with information on who could have taken Marissa to contact the police.

"We are looking for, what we believe to be one individual but we're not exactly sure," he said. "We just are very anxious to get the person responsible for this, or person."

Police said Marissa was found in Clovis — about four hours from where she was taken — and that is alive and well. Boring said there are no indications that she was harmed in any way and that she spoke to her parents over the phone after she was found.

"It's been a fantastic day," Boring said, adding that Marissa is "extremely lucky" to have had "the sense and sensibility to get in a public place with people."

But, he added: "At this point, we have no indication to the 'why's or 'who.'"

Police said witnesses saw the girl at 6:30 p.m. Thursday with a white man in his mid-30s to about 40 years old. At the time, the man was believed to have been driving a white car, possibly a Chevrolet Cavalier.

Police issued an Amber Alert, prompting television and radio broadcasts of details of the girl's disappearance. Notification of the Amber Alert was also posted on electronic reader boards along main highways.

These alerts, named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl that was killed in Texas in 1996, are supposed to be limited to cases in which authorities confirm a child has been abducted and faces serious danger.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.