Runaway girl and cousin told to give up

A 14-YEAR-OLD schoolgirl on the run with her 23-year-old cousin have been warned it will be better to give themselves up now as it is only a matter of time before they are caught.

Margaret O’Brien went missing from her north of England home last Friday. She is travelling with her cousin James and is believed to be in Ireland.

Gardaí and other staff at the State’s airports and ports have been told to keep a close lookout for the pair, who are travelling with their passports.

Cleveland Police, who are coordinating the search for the teenager and the young man, are treating the case as one of child abduction.

The pair asked maverick Co Antrim-based cleric Bishop Pat Buckley to marry them on Monday. He refused after discovering the girl was just 14 and urged them to return home.

They then asked for directions to the Dublin train.

Detective Superintendent Shane Sellers, who is leading the investigation, said there will be no let up in their hunt for the couple, both members of the Travelling community.

“My message to Margaret and Mr O’Brien is simple: Go to your nearest police station and give yourself up. You can not continue as you are. It is only a matter of time before you are found and it would be far better for all concerned if you handed yourselves in to the police because we will not give up our search.”

Gardaí have made inquiries among the Travelling community, though it’s possible they will avoid contact with members of their extended family. The O’Brien Travellers are based Limerick, a leading member of the community said.

Det Supt Sellers added: “We believe this couple are still in southern Ireland and we are appealing to people there to be our eyes and ears to help us locate Margaret.

“We want her back safe and sound with her family who are distraught over her disappearance.”

Margaret’s mother Catherine, from Teesside near Middlesbrough, has appealed for the safe return of her child.