Thirteen-year-old Celina Lima of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo has been missing since Wednesday night and her mother is pleading with her to return home or for anyone who has information on her whereabouts to contact the nearest police station.
Yesterday, Angela Cheong, 46, the mother of the missing teen received a tip about a schoolgirl who was seen at a West Coast Demerara (WCD) house, but when she turned up with police, they found a 15-year-old student of a WCD secondary school there with a boy.
The student, who hails from an East Bank Essequibo village, had left to go to school but never showed up.
Cheong, a Brazilian, said she was shocked when she saw the other girl hiding in a bedroom; she was not wearing her school uniform at the time. The girl was ordered to dress in her uniform and was taken to the police station, where she was detained until her parents arrived. An adult man who was also in the house along with the 16-year-old boy was also detained.
An emotional Cheong told Stabroek News that the police thought they had gone to the right house after noticing someone running in the house when they arrived. They quickly ran up the stairs and ordered the occupants to open the door.
Cheong is pleading with her daughter to return home. She noted that she is at a vulnerable age and she does not want her to be harmed. “She is my child and I love her and I’m worried about her. I want her to come back home,” the woman said.
According to Cheong, the girl wanted to “have her own way… She has a temper and cannot control it sometimes.”
Since her disappearance around 7 pm on Wednesday, the girl texted her sister and told her she was going to Barbados.
However, the mother said she did not think it was her daughter who sent the texts.
