'Missing' student reunited with her family

A university student who turned up in Dublin after sparking a major missing persons search was today reunited with her family.

Vicky Stephenson, 19, disappeared on Tuesday after telling friends she was going to interview a homeless person as part of her studies.

A team of more than 40 police officers took part in the hunt for Vicky, a community studies and sociology student at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Police dogs and dozens more officers were drafted in to help scour bushes and waste ground along the three-mile route she would have taken into Manchester city centre.

Her frantic parents travelled from London to Manchester to join the search, as did Vicky’s best friend and her best friend’s family.

But yesterday Vicky walked into a police station in Dublin and announced herself.

Two Greater Manchester Police officers immediately flew to the Republic to meet her and find out why she went missing.

They returned to the UK with Vicky today, where they continued to interview her.

A spokeswoman for the force said this evening: “Vicky returned to Manchester today and was reunited with her family.

“Our officers will continue to interview her to find out the issues behind her disappearance.

“She will not necessarily be taken to a police station. She will be interviewed wherever she is most comfortable.

“The interview process could last for several days.”

Vicky lived with her parents until the age of 16 but then moved in with the family of her best friend. She was today reunited with both families.