Police officers involved in the 17-day hunt for a runaway Dundee teenager, who was traced safe and well at her school, said inquiries will focus on where she had been.
Officers swooped at St John’s High on Thursday after a tip-off that 13-year-old Michaela Hunter had been sighted in the Glens area.
As police made for the area, Michaela turned up at school around 7am and officers were diverted to St John’s, bringing an end to the massive hunt which at its peak had involved around 40 officers.
A police spokesman last night said, “Officers arrived and, as a precaution, took the girl to Ninewells Hospital where she was assessed as being fit and well and was quickly released.”
He continued, “The inquiry will now focus on where Michaela has been during the time she is unaccounted for.
The police spokesman thanked the public for their support during the hunt for Michaela, as the assistance given to officers was “key” to the youngster being found.
The breakthrough came just hours before specialist dogs from Wales were due to begin a search in the Charleston area.
Scent Article Method dogs from Dyfed Powys Police are trained to pick up the trail of a missing person days later.
It was the latest move by senior officers leading an inquiry which has included painstaking searches of undergrowth, checking hours of CCTV footage, and interviewing the youngster’s friends after Michaela went missing from her home in Yeaman’s Lane last month.
Officers consistently said they believed Michaela had not come to any harm, and that it appeared she may have been sheltered by friends.
She failed to respond to a series of emotional appeals from her family, including her mum and grandmother.
Michaela’s grandmother Rosemary Grant had flown in from Germany to be with the family throughout their long wait for the teenager’s return home.
She said, “There aren’t words to describe how relieved we are. We don’t know where she has been.’Best news ever'”All we know is that she is alive and that’s the best news ever.
“Her mum (Audrey Reid) is still in a state of shock but she is very relieved.”
Neighbour Richard Petrie said, “Her parents must have been really worried. It must be a big relief.
“As a parent myself, I know it would be my worst nightmare.”
“I have four children and, if it was any of them, I’d be out looking for them all the time.”
Chief Inspector Suzie Mertes, head of operational policing in Dundee, said she was delighted at the outcome. She said the vigilance and support of the public and the dedication of the officers assigned to find Michaela had been superb throughout.
“It has been a very good morning. We are relieved naturally,” she said. “She has actually been seen by a member of the public who has recognised her and called in.
“Our units were on the way up there and she has then made off from the member of the public and has then gone into school.
“We despatched units up to the school where we then got her.”