Tuesday, September 30, 2014
A15-YEAR-old girl from Bristol has gone missing – and may be trying to get to Syria after being "radicalised", say police.
The girl, who has not been named but is from a Somali family, is now known to be in Turkey and believed to be heading for the border with its war-torn neighbour.
The girl's parents reported her missing last Wednesday and news of her disappearance emerged last night.
In a message to their daughter issued on their behalf last night, they said: "Please come back. We miss you very much.
"You are not in any trouble. We just want you to be safe and come home as soon as possible."
Avon and Somerset police assistant chief constable Louisa Rolfe said: "We can confirm that a 15-year-old student from Bristol has travelled to Turkey and we understand she may be attempting to make her way to Syria.
"Since she was reported missing by her parents, we've carried out extensive work to trace her footsteps from the time she left home to her arrival in Istanbul, Turkey.
"We're giving every support we can to her family; we want to find out where she is and encourage her to return safely.
"Our officers are working closely with the Metropolitan Police and their network of international liaison officers to find her.
"There are indications she may have been radicalised but at the moment our priority is to find her before she crosses the border to Syria and make sure she is safe.
"We must all be vigilant and ready to spot the signs of radicalisation.
"Often, young Muslims who go to Syria hold can be naïve and don't recognise that they are being sucked into joining extremist groups.
"This is not about criminalising these young people, it's about preventing tragedies."
It is thought the Bristol girl met another girl, aged 17, in London before the pair boarded a plane to Istanbul.
The family of the missing 15-year-old urged her to return to her home.
Hibaq Jama, Bristol's first Somali-born councillor, is the family's spokesperson.
The family live in the Labour councillor's Lawrence Hill ward, where the girl goes to school.
Ms Jama said: "The parents are devastated. They want their daughter to return home.
"The family are working closely with the police.
"They are desperate for her to come home and continue being the highly capable, gifted daughter that she was. They want her to go on and achieve her dreams and aspirations."
She said the girl had left for school as usual on the morning of her disappearance, but that when her father went to collect her at 3.30pm she had gone.
Earlier this year the Bristol Post reported that police believed about ten people from Bristol and the surrounding area had travelled to Syria during the civil war.