( CNN ) -- A 19-year-old Kentucky woman missing for two weeks has been found , and police are searching for a registered sex offender believed to be involved in her disappearance , authorities said Monday . Brittney Kustes was last seen July 17 at her grandparents ' home in Brooks , Kentucky , just south of Louisville , Kentucky , according to Det . Scott McGaha of the Bullitt County Sheriff 's Office . Witnesses told police that sex offender Roy Vernon Elwell -- who has a history of kidnapping and unlawful confinement -- was seen driving up and down the street where Kustes ' grandparents live on the day she disappeared . `` Shortly after , she was gone , '' McGaha said last week . Numerous witnesses reported seeing the pair in Louisville and surrounding areas over the past two weeks . On Friday , Kustes was driven to a drop-off point by a friend of her alleged captor , according to authorities . Kustes then called her boyfriend , who picked her up , drove her to a motel and called police . Her mother told HLN 's `` Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell '' Monday night that getting the news was `` one of the greatest moments of my life . '' `` It was truly a blessing , '' Laurie Kustes said . `` When we found her , we just stared at each other and I told her over and over you 're safe now ... and she just cried and cried . '' Laurie Kustes said her daughter was so `` brutally , mentally tortured '' during her disappearance that she was hospitalized Friday night . `` She 's just really been through a lot of horrible things , '' she said , declining to elaborate due to the ongoing police investigation . Brittney Kustes has a history with the 34-year-old Elwell , according to her mother . `` This guy came into my daughter 's life with drugs , '' Laurie Kustes told CNN affiliate WHAS last week . She said the last time Elwell was with her daughter , Brittney returned home addicted to methamphetamine , a drug habit she had recently kicked . But Laurie Kustes said Monday that her daughter again returned from Elwell 's alleged captivity hooked on drugs . `` We 're going to have to start all over with drug counseling , rehab , '' she said . `` Also , I 'm going to have to get her into a psychiatrist for the past two weeks . '' McGaha described Brittney Kustes as `` terrified '' and `` extremely frightened '' of Elwell , and described him as `` very dangerous . '' `` She is not under police protection , but we are under alert to watch her , '' McGaha told `` Issues , '' adding that Brittney Kustes is `` at a location [ Elwell ] is not familiar with . '' McGaha has said that Elwell knows police want to speak with him about Kustes . Friends of Elwell 's have told police that he laughs off requests to come in to the sheriff 's office , according to McGaha . Meanwhile , Elwell has been found to be noncompliant with the laws of the state 's sex offender registry as he continues to evade police . The Class D felony carries a penalty of up to five years in prison , McGaha said .
Brittney Kustes was last seen July 17 . She was driven to a drop - off site Friday night . Her mother says her daughter was ` ` mentally tortured '' during her stay . Police are looking for a registered sex worker known to have been with her .