Man (18) charged with abduction of Dundalk teenager

An 18-year-old man has been charged with the abduction of a young teenage girl who was the subject of child rescue alert during the week.

The man is to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court on Saturday after being charged by the PSNI with child abduction and other offences.

Gardaí had issued a rare Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) alert for the girl early on Thursday morning and 10 alerts were issued through the day before Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, confirmed just before 10.30pm on Thursday night she had been found safe and well.

Such alerts are only issued when gardaí fear a child has been abducted and is in immediate danger. A similar alert was issued in Northern Ireland by the PSNI.

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In a statement, the PSNI said the charges against the accused will be reviewed by the North’s Public Prosecution Service, as is standard procedure.

The accused was found with the missing girl in Belfast on Thursday night. She had gone missing from her Co Louth home on Monday.

CRI alerts were introduced in 2012, the first one was issued in 2013 and to date eight have been issued in the Republic. They are notices issued to the media and on social media seeking information on the whereabouts of children missing, abducted or whose whereabouts are unknown in cases where there are concerns for the safety of the children.