Missing 13-year-old girl Lillia found ‘safe and well’ after eight-day disappearance

| Freelance News Reporter Published September 20, 2026 8:47am Updated September 20, 2026 8:48am Lillia, 13, was finally located by officers during a proactive search in Manchester City Centre (Picture: Facebook) Officers have thanked the public after missing teenager Lillia was found ‘safe and well’ during a police patrol. The 13-year-old, from Bolton, first disappeared on Friday, September 11, before being spotted at various locations across Greater Manchester. She was known to have caught various buses around the city, starting with the 247 bus at the Trafford Centre last Saturday. Lillia was then seen entering McDonald’s on Market Street in Manchester City Centre at 8.20pm on Sunday. Further CCTV footage showed her getting the number 36 bus from Salford around 10am on Monday, September 14 and walking through Manchester Piccadilly bus station at 10.36am the same morning. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. The teenager was eventually found on Saturday evening by officers conducting a proactive search in the city centre. Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley said: ‘I cannot thank the public [enough], not just in Greater Manchester but throughout the whole of the country for their submissions of information through our online public portal, via the phone lines and everyone who shared our appeals online. ‘Without your support, we would not have been able to track Lillia down and bring her home safely. Lillia was sighted several times travelling around Greater Manchester on CCTV after she first disappeared on September 11 (Picture: CCTV/Greater Manchester Police) ‘I would also like to extend my thanks to the officers who located her while out on proactive patrols, as well as the many officers and staff behind the scenes working to further the investigation. ‘We have engaged with every police officer in the force who have been on duty since she has been missing and circulated her image to them, in the hope that one of them would be able to recognise her.’ She said officers had spotted someone resembling Lillia and engaged with her before confirming her identity as the missing teenager. ‘The role of the media cannot be understated as well, the sharing of appeals, pictures and the press conference we held with Lillia’s mum hitting TV screens has been a massive help, I cannot thank them enough’, she added. ‘Finally, 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.’ In an appeal, Lillia’s mother Jessica said earlier this week: ‘Lill, I love you so so much. ‘My heart is breaking without you here. I need to know you are safe. We all you need back home safe and well.’ Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: What I Own: I’m single and bought a one-bedroom flat with £6,000 Arrow MORE: Man, 29, jailed for raping two 14-year-old girls after getting them drunk Arrow MORE: Missing boy, 10, last seen two days ago is found News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.