A missing teenager who vanished from her Florida home nearly two weeks ago has been found in New Jersey, following a desperate search and fears from her father that she had been coerced away from the family. 

Sophia Veronica Cover, 16, had left her home in Naples in the early hours of July 31. She was last seen on haunting surveillance footage with a sweatshirt over her head, fleeing into darkness. 

Her family issued emotional pleas for the public's assistance, and the Collier County Sheriff's Office finally announced on Monday that Sophia had been found safe more than 1,200 miles away. 

Her father, Richard Cover, shared a heartfelt message through the Florida Themis Project, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting family members and victims of unsolved crimes.

'Sophia has been found safe. Totally safe. She was picked up at a friend's house in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, by the FBI,' Cover tearfully revealed.

He said the FBI was interviewing Sophia and he was planning to fly to New Jersey to reunite with her. 

'All the bad things that I thought were happening and could happen, it sounds like just some teenagers deciding that they were smarter than everybody else and decided to go hang out together for a few days, then it turned into 11,' Cover added.

The relieved father said he was grateful for his community and choked up when recalling the harrowing experience of not knowing where his daughter was.

'Just the amount of love and support that I've gotten, my family's gotten, my daughter's gotten, with no judgment, and all love,' he continued.

'I have no words. I feel like I have faith in humanity again.'

Through tears, Cover said that his daughter was safe and healthy, adding that the next part of being a dad was 'figuring out what to do next.'

Cover thanked the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and Detective Marisol Rodriguez in a separate post on Facebook, acknowledging that he put a 'tremendous amount of pressure' on them.

'I’m Sophia’s dad, and I was scared, frustrated, emotional, and determined to find my daughter. Detective Rodriguez handled all of that while still doing her job and keeping this investigation moving,' he wrote.

'For the first time in what feels like forever, I can finally say this: Sophia has been found. Sophia is safe. From the bottom of this dad’s heart, thank you all.'

It's unclear how Sophia traveled from Florida to New Jersey. Her father said in his recent video that he would be sharing more information after their reunion.

He told Gulf Coast News Now that the sheriff called him at 4pm on Monday and said, 'We got her!' 

Cover added that he was praying Sophia's disappearance was the result of rebellion, confessing that even though he does not like that she ran away, he was grateful that she kept herself safe, and that kids make mistakes.   

He shared online that Sophia came to live with him in Pennsylvania in 2014 after staying with her mother in Panama. 

Cover previously told Gulf Coast News Now that they moved to Florida just four months ago.  

Cover had feared the worst after his daughter disappeared, telling the outlet: 'I think that she left the house because someone either convinced her to, or promised her something and I think that she's in trouble right now. I think someone has my daughter, is what I believe.'

'That's what I believe, and I hope I'm wrong.' 

The father launched a social media campaign to find his daughter, sharing multiple videos of loved ones speaking about Sophia under the hashtag #FindSophia.

Cover plans to fly to New Jersey on Wednesday to reunite with his daughter.