A Dutch teenager who went missing after child welfare authorities thwarted her attempt to become the youngest person to sail singlehanded round the world has been found in the Dutch Antilles.
The Dutch Council for the Protection of Children said Laura Dekker, 14, had been found on the Caribbean island of St Martin after being reported missing by relatives in The Netherlands last week.
"We found her," council spokesman Richard Bakker said. "She is still on St. Martin and she is in the custody of police." Bakker said the council and the Dutch government were working to have Dekker returned to the Netherlands as soon as possible, but a decision had not been made on where she would stay on her return.
"She is in good health," police spokesman Bernhard Jens said, adding Dekker had been recognized on St. Martin.
Police said Ms Dekker went missing on Thursday and child welfare authorities alerted police on Friday night. The police then asked the authorities to monitor international airports.
Born on her parents' boat in New Zealand, Ms Dekker spent the first four years of her life at sea and had intended to start a two-year solo voyage round the world on her 8.3 metre yacht Guppy on September 1st when she was still 13.
Ms Dekker's plans captured the attention of both international media and the seafaring Dutch, but a Dutch court blocked her departure and placed her under state supervision, saying the trip posed risks to her safety.
"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," said Elly Laanen, chairwoman of the Utrecht child welfare office.
Ms Dekker is reported to have left a letter for her father - whom she lives with - before disappearing. She also withdrew €3,500 from her bank account, Dutch media said.
Mr Bakker said officers from the children's protection council would travel to the Antilles, where they would meet the girl and bring her home to The Netherlands.
He did not know why Ms Dekker - who has dual Dutch and New Zealand nationality - had opted to travel to St Martin. "We are concerned about her wellbeing," he said.
In a televised interview in August, Ms Dekker said she was not frightened of making the solo voyage, and she has repeatedly said she was determined to pursue her plans.
Ms Dekker's mother, Babs Muller, who has lived apart from Laura and her father since her daughter was six, said she thought her daughter was technically capable of making a round-the-world trip but she was worried about her safety in ports and psychological isolation at sea.
Reuters