Television and real life converged earlier this month when Nye County Sheriff's Office assisted the Naval Crime Investigative Service (NCIS) to solve what was thought to be a kidnapping case.

When a 16-year-old girl was reported missing from her home in North Carolina, her photograph and other details, including the fact that the girl was traced to a plane flight that landed at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, were forwarded to media outlets in Pahrump as well as to the NCSO.

However, even before the item could be written up, the case was solved right here in Pahrump.

According to Graham Grafton of NCIS, the girl was actually a runaway. She was found unharmed and was with Child Protective Services within a very short period of time, then transported back to her father who is a Marine on active duty, stationed at Ft. Camp Lejeune.

"We got great cooperation from the Nye County Sheriff's Office," said Grafton. "I have nothing but good things to say about them. They dropped everything to concentrate on finding our girl. They were just phenomenal. Dep. Mike McGrath found her and Sgt. Mike Horn was also instrumental in her return.

"Without that department, there is no way we would have been able to find her so fast."