A Georgia State Patrol helicopter hovered over a wooded area in Monroe County early Tuesday in a search of a missing girl.

The 13-year-old returned home about 3 a.m., about seven hours after authorities started looking for her near Logwall Church Road off Ga. 42, said Matt Perry, Monroe County’s Emergency Management director.

The teen’s family notified authorities when she did not come home at dark Monday night, which led to a search with Monroe County sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, emergency management volunteers and the state patrol.

“All in all, it was a good search. No one was hurt,” Perry said.

Nearly two dozen officers were involved in the ground search, but Perry said it was too dangerous to send them deep into the woods in the dark of night.

They called in the chopper with its infrared cameras that denote pockets of warmth, such as a person’s body heat.

Perry suspects that the girl, who left home about 4 p.m. Monday, heard the helicopter and began making her way home, where she was safely reunited with her family.