UPDATE: Local Teen Fled to Avoid Arranged Marriage

Be sure to read our latest update, .

Shortly after Skokie police about a missing Niles North High School student, Fox News Chicago is reporting that Zaineb Chaudary, 16, left home to avoid an arranged marriage.

The article reported that Chaudary’s father visited his homeland of Pakistan in October to arrange the marriage of his daughter.

Chaudary disappeared last month, and left home voluntarily as the result of tensions caused by difference with her parents, according to police. Her last contact with friends was the following day, when she sent a text to one of her friends.

Police noted that Chaudary’s actions could be viewed as a disgrace by her family.

“She can come to us and we’re going to make sure that she’s taken care of and that she can feel safe while returning or contact us,” Tammy Jacobsen, an officer with the Skokie Police Department, told Fox News. “We have a girl, raised here in the United States, being raised here in a different culture than where her parents are from, trying to accept the Western ways here.”

Police added that Chaudary’s family could view her actions as a severe sign of disrespect, and that she could face an “honor crime,” according to Fox News.

Police said the teen may have fled to El Monte, Calif., and met up a 39-year-old man that she met on the Internet.

The Skokie police, in conjunction with the Illinois State Police, have investigated numerous leads, and have made exhaustive efforts to find Chaudhary. Local, state-wide and national resources have been utilized, to include localized law enforcement Critical Reach Bulletins, contacting agencies in other states, and nationally via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Chaudary is described as Pakistani, 5-foot-4, 123 lbs. with long black hair. Anyone with information should contact the Skokie Police Department at 847-982-5900.