Hunt widens for missing teenager

A schoolgirl who vanished from her home in Northern Ireland may have gone to the south of England, it emerged tonight.

Louise Shiels, 15, went missing after leaving the house in Garvagh, Co Derry, yesterday.

She was last seen hitchhiking towards Omagh, Co Tyrone.

But detectives who now suspect she crossed the Irish border and travelled to Dublin have widened their hunt.

“We think she caught a ferry across to England and then headed south, possibly to Brighton or Torquay,” a Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said.

No reason was given for Louise wanting to travel to England.

The girl, who has not contacted her family since she went missing, is described as 5ft 2ins tall, slim with blue eyes and long blonde hair.

When she left home she was wearing a pink baseball cap, navy jumper and jogger bottoms and a grey and purple fleece.