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Rosie O’Donnell’s missing daughter, Chelsea, is found safe in New Jersey

Rosie O'Donnell, left, is shown with her daughter Chelsea in New York at the opening night performance of "American Idiot" in 2010. Chelsea, who had not been seen since Aug. 11, was found safe on Tuesday, police said.

Rosie O’Donnell, left, is shown with her daughter Chelsea in New York at the opening night performance of “American Idiot” in 2010. Chelsea, who had not been seen since Aug. 11, was found safe on Tuesday, police said.

(Charles Sykes / Associated Press)
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Rosie O’Donnell’s 17-year-old daughter, Chelsea, has been found, the comedian tweeted Tuesday afternoon.

A rep for O’Donnell said that police found the missing teen in New Jersey and that she is “safe in their custody.” No other details were immediately available. “Rosie wants to thank everyone for their help,” Christina Federowicz said.

Chelsea O’Donnell was found around 6 p.m. Tuesday by police in Barnegat Township, N.J., according to Officer Neil O’Sullivan of the South Nyack-Grand View, N.Y., Police Department.

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She and her dog, which she had brought with her, “are both safe and uninjured,” O’Sullivan said. Officers from South Nyack are en route to pick her up, he said.

“Thank you for all of your love, sharing and help,” Kelli Carpenter -- Chelsea’s mother and Rosie O’Donnell’s ex-wife -- wrote in a Facebook post.

“CHELSEA has been found!!!” Anne Steele, who is now married to Carpenter, wrote in a Facebook post. “Thank u all so much for your love and support for all of us. Pray that what happens next will be ok.”

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According to a statement on the comedian’s website, Chelsea had last been seen Aug. 11 in Nyack, N.Y., and local authorities had been looking for her since Sunday, when her family reported her missing.

Earlier, O’Donnell tweeted that her daughter may have been in New York City, about 30 miles south of the family’s home in Nyack. On Tuesday morning, the South Nyack-Grand View Police Department said it was investigating the missing person report.

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In a statement earlier Tuesday, O’Donnell said the teen had left home with her therapy dog, a black terrier puppy named Bear. O’Donnell’s publicist, Cyndi Berger, said Chelsea had also stopped taking her medication and may be “in need of medical attention.”

“Chelsea, like millions of people, lives with mental illness. It has been a difficult road for Chelsea and her family and they just want her back safe,” Berger said in a statement.

O’Donnell announced in February that she was leaving her position as co-host of “The View” and splitting from wife Michelle Rounds. The Emmy-winning comedian and actress, who had a heart attack in 2012, said she was leaving the show for health reasons.

“There’s lots of stuff going on at home and there’s lots of stuff going on at work, and the only thing I can really control is work,” she said at the time. “By leaving.”

Earlier this year, Rounds sought full custody of their daughter, Dakota.

Chelsea is one of four children from O’Donnell’s previous relationship with Carpenter.

For more breaking news, follow me @cmaiduc on Twitter.

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