McKeesport, Pa. ? The decadelong disappearance of a woman who resurfaced this week after running away as a 14-year-old has baffled police and neighbors in this western Pennsylvania town.

As Tanya Kach reunited with the father she ran away from in 1996, plenty of questions remain about how she could allegedly be held hostage for years by a middle school janitor – just two miles from her home.

“I’m touching blood and I get to say, ‘I love you, Dad,”‘ said Kach, now 24, as she clutched her father’s hand.

Thomas Hose, 48, was being held for alleged sexual acts with a minor, but no criminal charges related to kidnapping have been filed.

Police contend that Kach ran off with Hose after skipping class, but that for the next six years Hose held Kach captive in the house he shared with his parents and son. She allegedly had to use a bucket as a toilet and remain hidden from view.

Kach starting reconnecting with her past during visits to a store, where she befriended shopkeeper Joe Sparico.

On Tuesday, she walked into the store just after 9 a.m., crying.

“Joe, I want to tell you a big story,” she told him. “My name is Tanya Nicole Kach.”

Sparico said he called the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to confirm the tale. Police were called in, and within hours Kach was reunited with her father.