VANCOUVER, Wash. -- A Vancouver teen who was last heard from at 2 p.m. Wednesday was found safe in Tacoma, Wash., on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Carisa Tuck, 16, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, was reported missing after she failed to return home Wednesday. Police said it was abnormal for her to be out all night.

Tuck was found in good condition by law enforcement at about 1 p.m. Thursday after she called officers for help from a pay phone. Police said they're still investigating how she ended up in Tacoma.

Carisa Tuck's mother, Bonnie Tuck, left to run an errand with her other daughter around 10:30 a.m. and then she talked to Carisa Tuck on the phone at 2 p.m., but that was the last time she heard from her daughter before the teen disappeared.

Once word got out that Carisa Tuck was missing, Vancouver police got tips that she was seen walking through a nearby park in the evening with a friend.

Officers and search volunteers went door to door all around her neighborhood, handing out fliers and talking to neighbors.

Tuck's mother said she had gotten in trouble at school earlier this week and was at home serving a two-day suspension. At a news conference Thursday, she made a tearful plea for her daughter's return.

"If you're out there, we're not mad at you. We just want you to come home," she said.

During the emotional plea to the public Thursday, Tuck's parents said she's like a child who is 16 going on 9 because of her Asperger's syndrome.

They said she's never disappeared before, she feels safest being at home and this is not like her at all.

"It's not like Carisa. We're joined at the hip. She has to call me 12 times a day, so this is really unusual for her not to be calling me. She calls me constantly," Bonnie Tuck said during the press conference before her daughter was found

Tuck's mom said that when she left her daughter at home Wednesday morning, she was on the computer.

Police said detectives are checking out recent activity on that computer.

Tuck was off her medication for 24 hours, and medical crews were evaluating her to make sure she is OK, police said.

Vancouver police said Tuck's family was driving to Tacoma to pick her up and she should be back home by Friday.

When she returns, detectives will talk to her to find out how she got so far away from home.

Missing 16-Year-Old Girl Found In Tacoma