Hiccup girl 'runs away from home'

The 15-year-old girl whose marathon case of hiccups brought her worldwide attention earlier this year has apparently run away from home in St Petersburg, Florida, police said today.

Jennifer Mee’s struggles with chronic hiccups – up to 50 times a minute for months – made her an internet sensation and darling of US morning television news shows, which aggressively fought to book the ninth-grader for interviews.

The hiccups, which stopped for a while but then started again, forced her out of school.

Jennifer’s sister last saw her last night at a park in north St Petersburg, police said. Her mother, Rachel Robidoux, reported her missing about 11 hours later.

Robidoux said Jennifer was upset after a disagreement with her stepfather over a MySpace.com account the family did not know about. They disconnected her mobile phone service as punishment.

“She was upset, but nothing more than any other time she didn’t get what she wanted,” Robidoux said today, her voice shaking. “We have not heard from her. We’ve been making call after call after call, looking for places she might go. ... I really want her home.”

Police do not consider Jennifer to be in danger. She took no extra clothes or her purse, her mother said.

Jennifer saw an infectious disease specialist, a neurologist, a chiropractor, a hypnotist and an acupuncturist about hiccups. She tried a patented device designed to stop hiccups, plus all the old remedies.