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Met Police searching for teenage girl missing for more than a week

Julia Skala, 16, reportedly left home at around 1pm on Monday January 8.

Pol Allingham
Friday 19 January 2024 15:17 EST
(PA)
(PA) (PA Archive)

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Police are searching for a teenage girl who has been missing for more than a week, the Met said.

Julia Skala, 16, is said to have left her south-west London home at around 1pm on January 8 and Scotland Yard is now appealing for the public to help find her.

Her family reportedly said it is ā€œunusual for her to be away from home this longā€ and officers are increasingly concerned for her welfare.

The girl, from Mitcham, was last seen wearing a black North Face jacket, black trousers, white Nike trainers, and carrying a black Nike rucksack.

She was reported missing the next morning and an investigation was launched that included house-to-house inquiries and recovering CCTV, the Met said.

Superintendent Josh Laughton, from the local policing team in south-west London, said: ā€œJuliaā€™s family have told us it is unusual for her to be away from home for this long.

ā€œWhile thereā€™s no evidence to suggest she has come to harm, we are growing increasingly concerned about her welfare.

ā€œWe use a range of tactics to trace the movements of a missing person, however despite our inquiries, we still have no indication of where she is.

ā€œJulia has links to Lambeth, Camden and Islington. Itā€™s likely she would have travelled by public transport.

ā€œI would ask anyone who thinks they may have seen her over the past week to come forward immediately.ā€

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