Vulnerable 13-year-old is found safe and well after appeal (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Keighley girl is found in Bradford after vanishing from South Yorkshire care home

5:40am Thursday 27th September 2012 in News By Steve Wright, Crime Reporter

A vulnerable 13-year-old girl, who went missing from a care home, has been found safe following a Telegraph & Argus report about her disappearance.

Tamara Irving, known as Tammy, disappeared from the care home in the Barnsley area of South Yorkshire, where she had been staying for less than two weeks, last Friday.

Tammy, who is originally from the Keighley area, was thought to have headed back to the Bradford district.

Detective Inspector Sharon Hancock, of South Yorkshire Police, told the T&A Tamara was a vulnerable child and they were increasingly concerned for her safety.

She said the force had asked West Yorkshire Police colleagues to put Tammy's details on social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Officers were also contacting friends and family, checking CCTV, and carrying out searches for the teenager.

Det Insp Hancock had appealed to anyone who had seen Tammy, or knew where she was, to contact her family, or West Yorkshire Police.

"If Tammy reads this, we would urge her to contact us. She is not in any trouble. All we want to do is bring her home safe and well. She can walk into any police station, or ring us," she said.

Yesterday[wed] Det Insp Hancock revealed that the teenager had been found safe and well in Bradford city centre on Tuesday evening.

The officer said: “A police community support officer found her and she is now back in the care of social services.

She added: “The number of phone calls we had following the article in the Telegraph & Argus was fantastic. People put her picture on facebook for us because they had seen the appeal in the newspaper.

“We want to thank the T&A, and everyone has helped to try to find her.”

Tamara had been missing before but not for so long.

e-mail: steve.wright @telegraphandargus.co.uk