Missing teenager 'fled to Egypt'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/cumbria/6544399.stm

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A teenage girl is believed to have run away from her home in England to meet a secret boyfriend in Egypt.

An international search is under way for Amy Robson, 17, who is thought to have struck up the friendship while on holiday with her parents last summer.

Amy, from Burgh by Sands, near Carlisle, is believed to have been e-mailing the man for several months.

She disappeared from her home on Good Friday, while her parents were away on an Easter break, Cumbria Police said.

Insp Adrian Sowerby, of Cumbria Police, said: "After looking at telephone and e-mail records, it would appear that this young girl has bought a plane ticket to Egypt and that is where we are now focusing this inquiry."

'Being coerced'

Mr Sowerby said his force would now work with Interpol to try to contact the girl but, under UK law, cannot force her to return to Britain.

He said: "She is 17 and, in some respects, she is lawfully entitled to do what she wants.

"It would be quite difficult for us to force her to come back and, from our point of view, as long as there are no worries about her being coerced into going out there or about her mental health, we simply want to make sure that she is OK."

It is believed Amy may have struck up the friendship in the resort of Hurgahada on the Red Sea.

She is about 5ft 8in and of slim build, with light brown streaked long hair, and wears glasses.