Teen girl, 15, reported missing by school 10 months ago is found safe and sound

05 January 2023 , 15:30

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Saidatu Jalloh has been found safe and sound (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A teenage girl who went missing 10 months ago has been found 'safe and well' by police.

Saidatu Jalloh who was 14 at the time and is now 15, was reported missing to Met Police by staff at her school in Lambeth on March 9, 2022.

But the Met’s first appeal for the teenager was 10 months later in a social media post on Twitter on December 8 where they said she could be "anywhere in the UK."

Police say Saidatu had come to the UK had not been long registered at the school but was not seen in classes the week prior before teachers notified police.

After the Mirror revealed she had been missing for nearly a year, the Met released a statement stating they were told by people at the address they were given, that she had been picked up by her mother and no longer lived there.

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But during their 10-month long investigation, police say they found no record of the teenager's mum and decided to release an appeal after "exhausting all other lines of enquiry" with their appeal stating she could be anywhere in the country.

Now, police say the schoolgirl has been found in London and that "they are satisfied she is safe and well and is being appropriately looked after."

Police waited 10 months before launching a public appeal (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A spokesperson for the Met said: "A teenage girl who had been reported missing from Lambeth has been found.

"Officers had appealed for information about 15-year-old Saidatu Jalloh.

"On the evening of Thursday, 5 January, acting on information received as a result of the appeal and related publicity, officers located Saidatu in the London area.

"They are satisfied she is safe and well and is being appropriately looked after.

"We will not be providing any more specific information about her personal circumstances, including where she was found, in order to protect her privacy."

Saidatu's school had raised the alarm over her whereabouts after they were told of a "possible change" in her circumstances before notifying police.

Melissa Sigodo