Girl, 13, missing for eight days found 'safe and well' by police in Manchester city centre

Sunday, 20 September 2026 00:02

A 13-year-old girl who went missing more than a week ago has been found safe and well.

Lillia, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, left her home last Friday (11 September).

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) earlier released CCTV showing her at Manchester Piccadilly bus station on Monday.

But - just hours later - the force revealed she had now been found.

In a statement on Saturday night, GMP thanked people for sharing its appeal and said: "We can confirm that she has been found safe and well in the city centre.

"She is currently with our officers, and her next of kin have been informed of this update. We will release more information in due course."

Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley, District Commander for Bolton, thanked the public in Greater Manchester and "throughout the whole of the country" for sharing information and appeals.

She went on: "I would like to finish by paying tribute to Lillia's mum who has worked with us throughout this investigation, she has shown incredible strength in what has been eight days of torture for her and her family.

"We have kept her updated throughout and it gives me immense pleasure that we can reunite her with her little girl.

"In what will be a truly emotional time, I would request that Lillia, her mum and her family are given the privacy and respect they deserve following an incident such as this."

The 13-year-old's mother earlier made a direct appeal for her to come home on Friday.

"Lill, I love you so, so much," she said in a statement read on her behalf.

"My heart is breaking without you here. I need to know you are safe. We all need you back home safe and well."

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Police previously identified a sighting of Lillia at the Trafford Centre on Saturday 12 September, saying she caught a bus from there towards Altrincham.

She was seen at a McDonald's in Piccadilly Gardens the following day, before being pictured boarding a bus from Salford to Manchester on Monday morning.

Sky News