Three Denver-area teenage girls were reunited with their families after being stopped in Germany during a possible attempt to join Islamist fighters in Syria.
Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. is grateful to Germany after three Denver-area teenage girls were stopped in Frankfurt over the weekend during a possible attempt to join Islamist fighters in Syria.
"We are very, very grateful for Germany for their cooperation with us on this particular incident of some young folks who were traveling," Kerry said Wednesday during a Berlin news conference.
Two girls are sisters, ages 15 and 16, of ethnic Somali origin, and the third teen, 17, is from Sudan, the Voice of America reported. One girl reportedly told German authorities the three were "going to Turkey to study."
"It is under investigation now. Our folks are looking at the causes and impacts very carefully," Kerry said, adding it was too early to provide more details on the case. "This is an example of good cooperation between us, and the increased vigilance of law enforcement on this issue of the movement of people from one country to another."
German Interior Ministry spokeswoman Pamela Mueller-Niese told reporters Wednesday that authorities there were informed by the U.S. that the girls were arriving alone at the Frankfurt airport over the weekend. The three have since been reunited with their families in Colorado, FBI spokeswoman Suzie Payne said.
The girls boarded a flight out of Denver International Airport on Friday. From Denver, they flew to Chicago and then to Frankfurt. They never made it to their final destination: Istanbul.
A runaway report filed by one of the parents showed the girls lied to their families before secretly taking off. One girl's father thought she took the bus to school Friday morning. The two other girls stole $2,000 from their mother, according to documents.
In a follow-up visit to one of the girls' homes after they were returned, a sheriff's deputy noted in the report the teens were very vague about their plans. They would only say they were going to Syria to visit "family." Investigators are now reviewing evidence, including the girls' computers.
Federal sources told NBC News the oldest of the teens "egged on" the others to carry out their plan to leave the country.
The girls have told varying stories about why they were headed to Turkey. Federal sources say it appears the older sister was doing most of the communicating with someone online who was apparently in Turkey. It is not clear whether that person had official connections with Syrian jihadists.
The same sources told NBC News it does not appear the airline tickets were paid for by anyone overseas. The girls, most likely, will not be prosecuted.
The case comes six months after a 19-year-old woman was arrested at Denver International Airport as she prepared to fly to Syria, via Turkey, to join Islamist fighters.
Shannon Maureen Conley, who was raised in Arvada, Colo., and converted to Islam, pleaded guilty in September to conspiring with Yousr Mouelhi to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, specifically al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
She faces a maximum prison sentence of five years, but as part of a plea bargain, she may receive a lesser term by cooperating with other investigations or testifying before a grand jury.
Contributing: Michael Winter; KUSA-TV, Denver, and The Associated Press
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