The family of a 14-year-old girl who went missing for three months were rejoicing today after she was found safe by police.
Shelley Pratt’s disappearance in November prompted a huge police hunt and appeals by her friends and players from Crystal Palace FC. Her family said they feared she was dead until she called at 1.30am five days ago.
Her older brother Antony traced the call to a phonebox in Soho after putting the number into Google, and the family told detectives. Scotland Yard said police found Shelley in Croydon yesterday. Today she was speaking to social services and police.
Her father Tony Pratt, 41, said: “We spoke to her on the phone and she seems to be getting back to her old bubbly self. She has apparently lost weight and dyed her hair but she is clean and generally okay. I don’t have the words to explain how euphoric I am.”
Mother Lisa, 42, said: “We can’t wait to get her back.” The family, who live in Norwood, said they were baffled by the teenager’s disappearance.
