A New Hampshire girl, Abigail Hernandez, has been safely reunited with her family following a nine month period in which she went missing.

The teen's mother expressed her feelings to authorities, saying, "today, we are the happiest people on earth," after her daughter returned home safely Sunday evening.

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Hernandez, 15, and a student of Kennet High School in Conway, N.H., was last seen leaving school in October and had been missing since then.

Speculations about whether or not Hernandez's situation should be considered as a runaway case were brought up by authorities after the teenager sent mail to her mother days after her disappearance.

Police also insisted that there was a lack of evidence that would suggest suspicious activities behind the event; therefore, after the 15-year-old disappeared, they only treated it as a missing-person's case.

Though the teenager made it home, the FBI is still investigating the matter, stressing that her safety is of utmost importance. They have yet to figure out whether Hernandez deliberately ran away from home or if there was someone coercing or manipulating the young girl into staying away.

Authorities have fretted that Hernandez was a potential victim for sexual abuse, especially as she is a "juvenile female that has no independent financial means," said the FBI assistant agent in charge of the investigation, Kieran Ramsey.

Previously, the mother, Zenya Hernandez, had issued a plea for her daughter's safe return. Zenya wrote a letter addressed to her missing daughter, pleading for her to come home.

The letter resulted in numerous tips to the Conway police and an online vigil ensued on November 3 through social networking sites.

The state's Attorney General, Joseph Foster, said that the family has requested that their privacy be respected while they further assist authorities on solving the case.

The FBI is still open to receiving tips throughout the follow-up investigation into the cause of Hernandez's disappearance.

TagsAbigail Hernandez, Missing NH Teen Found, missing teen found