Web 'hiccup girl' found

The 15-year-old US girl whose marathon case of hiccups made international news earlier this year has been found safe by her mother about 14 hours after she was reported missing.

Jennifer Mee, from Florida, was found walking about two miles from her home in the early hours of today, her mother, Rachel Robidoux said.

“She had been at a friend’s house at one point,” Ms Robidoux said. “She had also been walking the streets aimlessly, not knowing where to go.”

Jennifer’s struggles with chronic hiccups – up to 50 times a minute for months - made her an internet sensation and darling of morning television news shows, who fought to book the middle school student for interviews.

Ms Robidoux said she had not yet discussed with her daughter why she ran away.

“I think she just wants her freedom, and she has to realise there’s going to be boundaries at that age,” she said.

The hiccups that forced her out of school have only been sporadic recently, Ms Robidoux said.

Jennifer had been upset after a disagreement with her stepfather over a Myspace.com account they did not know about. They disconnected her mobile phone service as punishment.

Her sister last saw her on Sunday at a park in north St Petersburg. A friend’s mother found her at their home late on Sunday and made her leave, Robidoux said.