MISSING 13-YEAR-OLD LILLIA FOUND SAFE AFTER HEARTBREAKING APPEAL FROM HER MOTHER

A 13-year-old schoolgirl who disappeared from her family home in Bolton has been found safe and well, bringing an emotional end to a search that lasted more than a week.

Lillia was reported missing on September 11 after leaving her family home in Bolton. Greater Manchester Police launched an extensive search and appealed repeatedly for information about her whereabouts.

During the investigation, officers pieced together several sightings of the teenager across Greater Manchester.

She was believed to have boarded a 247 bus at the Trafford Centre at around 1:50 p.m. on September 12. The following evening, CCTV showed her entering and leaving a McDonald’s in Piccadilly Gardens at around 8:20 p.m.

Police later identified another sighting on the morning of September 14, when Lillia boarded a number 36 bus in Salford.

At 10:36 a.m. that same morning, CCTV captured her walking through Manchester Piccadilly bus station. It became the last confirmed sighting before she was found.

HER MOTHER’S HEARTBREAKING PLEA

Before Lillia was found, her mother, Jessica, made an emotional appeal for her daughter to come home.

Speaking through a statement read by Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley, Jessica said:

“Lill, I love you so so much. My heart is breaking without you here. I need to know you are safe. We all need you back home safe and well.”

Chief Superintendent Critchley also spoke directly to Lillia, reassuring her that she was not in trouble.

Police said her family simply wanted to know that she was safe and wanted her to return home.

A MAJOR SEARCH ACROSS GREATER MANCHESTER

Officers spent days reviewing hours of CCTV footage, distributing hundreds of missing-person leaflets and following numerous lines of inquiry.

Police also appealed to members of the public who may have captured Lillia on mobile phones, dashcams or other cameras, particularly around Piccadilly Gardens and the bus routes she was believed to have used.

The investigation eventually led officers to track her movements through Manchester.

Then, on the evening of September 19, officers conducting a proactive patrol in Manchester city centre located Lillia.

GMP confirmed that the teenager was safe and well and that her mother and other family members had been informed.

Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley thanked members of the public across Greater Manchester and the rest of the country for sharing information and supporting the police appeals.

She said the public’s assistance had helped officers track Lillia down and bring her home safely.

After more than a week of uncertainty, the search for Lillia has now ended with the news her family had been desperately hoping for:

She has been found safe and well.