AMSTERDAM – A Dutch teenager whose dream to become the youngest person to sail singlehanded around the world was thwarted by child welfare authorities has gone missing from her father’s home, police said yesterday.
Police spokesman Bernhard Jens said relatives in the city of Utrecht had reported Laura Dekker (14) missing on Friday and authorities in nearby countries had been alerted to her disappearance and asked to monitor airports.
The spokesman added that Laura’s boat was believed to be moored at its usual place, but she had left her father’s home.
“We are concerned because she is 14 years old and she has to come home,” Mr Jens said.
Dutch public broadcaster NOS said Laura had left a letter for her father – whom she lives with – before disappearing, but did not reveal its contents.
The broadcaster quoted a family spokeswoman as saying Laura’s father did not know where she was.
Born on her parents' boat in New Zealand, Laura spent the first four years of her life at sea and had intended to start a two-year solo voyage around the world on her 8.3 metre (27ft) yacht Guppyon September 1st when she was still 13. Her plans had captured the attention of both international media and the sea-faring Dutch, but a court blocked her departure and placed her under state supervision, saying the trip posed risks to Laura's safety.
Elly Laanen, chairwoman of the Utrecht child welfare office, said she regretted Laura had decided to take this step and hoped she would return soon. “You can say that her dream was broken into pieces and all the attention that this caused is, in my opinion, never good for a girl of 14.”
Dutch newspaper De Volkskrantsaid the teenager had withdrawn €3,500 from her bank account, but police could not confirm this. – (Reuters)