Dutch girl missing after thwarted global sail trip

Reuters, AMSTERDAM, Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:20am EST

Laura Dekker (Photo: ANP)

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch teenager who was stopped by welfare authorities from trying to become the youngest person to solo sail the globe has gone missing from her father's home, police said on Sunday.

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.

Jens added Dekker's boat was believed to be still moored at its usual place, but Dekker has left her father's home.

"We are concerned because she is 14-years-old and she has to come home," Jens said.

Laura, who was born on her parents' boat in New Zealand and spent the first four years of her life at sea, had intended to start a two-year solo voyage on September 1 when she was still 13.

Her plans had captured media attention around the world, but a court blocked her departure and placed her under state supervision, saying the trip posed risks to Dekker's safety.

(Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block)

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