The missing granddaughter of the state senate’s majority leader called home yesterday, tempering speculation of foul play and prompting police to scale back their investigation.

Rachel Bruno, the 20-year-old granddaughter of Joseph Bruno, called her mother yesterday afternoon to tell her she was fine and would call again, a police spokeswoman, Maureen Tuffy, said. The call lessened speculation that Ms. Bruno had been harmed or was being held hostage, but Ms. Tuffy said an investigation would continue until the young woman was safely at home.

“We know she’s alive, so that does scale down the investigation quite a bit, but we really don’t know if there’s a problem or not,” Ms. Tuffy said.

Ms. Bruno, who lives at home with her parents in Brunswick, N.Y., was reported missing last Thursday when she failed to return home after spending the night at a friend’s home in Troy, Ms. Tuffy said. Investigators said she called her boyfriend and another friend that morning, but was not heard from again. Ms. Bruno reportedly does not have a cell phone, and failed to show up for work at a day care center affiliated with the Rensselaer County family court, investigators said.

Police said they would continue to follow leads and investigate the missing persons case, as investigators had not spoken to Ms. Bruno yet. Asked if police believed she was being held hostage, Ms. Tuffy said it was not likely but would not speculate further.

Ms. Bruno is the daughter of Mr. Bruno’s youngest child, Katie Bruno Hines. Her stepfather, Richard Hines, works for the state Office of General Services.