The missing 7-year-old California girl found hiding under a pile of clothes in a Phoenix home Wednesday is back in California, but authorities said it was unlikely the girl would be reunited with her biological family.

Enlarge AP Amber Nicklas was abducted when she was 1, according to authorities. Amber Nicklas, who turns 8 next month, has never been to school. Abducted in 2003 from Norwalk, Calif., a month after her 1st birthday, the girl has been raised by a Phoenix couple who kept her hidden from authorities, police said. Police said they found her Wednesday night in a north Phoenix home with the family, who tried to conceal her under a pile of clothes and towels in the bathroom. The child, whom the couple calls by another name, "appeared like any other almost 8-year-old," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Capt. Patrick Maxwell, whose investigators tracked the child to the home. "She was living in a family environment with a mom and dad and a brother and a sister," he said. The house, with a tarot card and palm reading sign posted out front, "wasn't fancy, but it was a clean environment," Maxwell said. No one answered the door at the house Thursday. Schools require birth certificates and immunization records, which the family didn't have, so the child did not attend school, Maxwell said. "She's had no formal education, but she's very social, a very lovely little girl," said Maxwell, who said he spoke with Amber. Police questioned the family but have not arrested them. The family, whom police did not name, is biologically unrelated to the girl, he said. The girl is now in state custody in Los Angeles. Amber, who had been living with foster parents, disappeared Sept. 21, 2003. Her three teenage aunts failed to return her to the foster parents after visiting with her at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Norwalk, police said. Police arrested two aunts at the time but could not locate the third teenager or the baby. In November 2009, Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators received a tip about the child's location. Although that tip led nowhere, the investigator stuck with the case, Maxwell said. In early July, the investigation led police to Phoenix. Police used a footprint from the child's birth certificate to identify her. Police also found and interviewed the missing aunt, Maxwell said. Amber "was a victim three times — first, she's in a foster home, then she's abducted, and now she's taken away from the only family she knows," Maxwell said. Contributing: The Arizona Republic Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more