Missing London teenager Serena Beakhurst has been found safe and well following a relentless Facebook and Twitter campaign from friends and family of the 14-year-old.
Serena went missing on December 15 when she travelled on a bus from her home in Tulse Hill to a college in south London where she was studying a beauty therapy course.
There were concerns because the youngster hadn’t previously been reported missing and is thought to be from “a loving and stable home.”
A spokesman for the Met Police said: “Serena was found in the early hours of Wednesday in Wandsworth, south-west London. Officers will be speaking to her in due course.”
Her disappearance was highlighted by celebrities including Stephen Fry, Rio Ferdinand and Simon Pegg – who retweeted messages to their millions of followers.
The ‘Please Help Find Serena Beakhurst’ Facebook group had more than 2,000 members with administrators explaining how other members can bombard various media outlets with information about Serena in an attempt to put her in the public eye.
Group member James Andrew this morning wrote: “Serena is home and well and on behalf of the family we would like thank you all! Each 2694 members.
“We got her back!!! Without the dedicated members of this Facebook group this would just have been another unreported case of a missing child.”
Serena’s cousin James Andrew told The Voice: “The family wishes to thank everyone who supported our campaign to find Serena. We are so grateful to all who took the time to post information about her on their Facebook and Twitter profiles.
“Without the dedicated members of the Facebook group, Please help us find Serena Beakhurst, this would have just been another unreported case of a missing child.”
“We also wish to thank the celebrities who publicised our efforts. Their involvement was invaluable. And to the media who picked up on the story, your coverage was instrumental in finding Serena.”
