Chloe Rodriguez now has two birthdays.
Her family will always remember the day she was found alive after allegedly being kidnapped in France, sparking a nationwide manhunt while her family feared the worst.
The 15-year-old went missing on November 9, when her scooter was found outside the family house in the village of Barjac, in the Gard region.
Most of her personal belongings were with the scooter, except for her helmet and mobile phone.
A week later, on Friday, the teenager was found tied up in the boot of a car during a routine traffic stop near Offenburg, just inside the German border, NBC News reported, quoting local media.
She was taken to hospital, but initial indications were that she had no physical injuries.
Her parents said that she was strong, but was exhausted.
"Today is too beautiful. There will be two birthdays for my little Chloe," Chloe's mother, Violette, told reporters.
She added: "This man who did her so much harm - there is justice, and justice will be rendered.
"But I thank him anyway, because he kept her alive."
Her father, Jesus, said that Chloe survived by never defying her accused captor.
"She told us that she was able to have a dialogue with this man, and that she obeyed all his orders," Mr Rodriguez told media outside their home.
The family said she had memorised details about the man, his car and its licence plate. She had also listened to radio reports about the police search.
The man detained over her kidnapping, a 32-year-old from the same region as the Rodriguez family, had been released from jail this year after serving time for assaulting six women, local media reports said.
Police released pictures of the blue Audi in which Chloe was tied up, showing it was badly damaged in a crash.
Investigators were expected to release details about the circumstances of the alleged kidnapping and her rescue at a press conference on Monday morning, local time.
smh.com.au with agencies
