A distraught father today begged his missing 14-year-old daughter to come home after she left a note claiming she had split from her boyfriend and was going to Halifax.
Olivia Smith had been dating Conrad Marlborough, 15, for three months before her parents urged her to end the relationship.
Before leaving her home in Harwich, Essex, after 5am on Tuesday, she left her parents a note saying she was going to the Yorkshire town to ‘sort herself out’ after the break-up.
However, her father Michael Slater, 51, doubts that she has the money to fund the 200-mile journey and believes Olivia told them she was going to Halifax to throw them off her scent.
Olivia’s mother Samantha Smith suspects she has actually fled with her Conrad to the Clacton area because she has disappeared twice before – both times with the boyfriend.
Mr Slater today pleaded with Olivia to come home, saying: ‘Her mum is the same as me, she’s really upset about it. I’m distraught but I’m bearing up. I’ve got to be strong in case she does ring me.
Olivia Smith had been dating her boyfriend for three months before her parents urged her to end the relationship. She left her home in Harwich, Essex, on Tuesday morning
Before leaving her home in Harwich, Essex, after 5am on Tuesday, she left her parents a note saying she was going to the Yorkshire town to ‘sort herself out’ after the break-up
‘I don’t know where she’s gone, to be honest, she’s got no money and no access to funds. I don’t think she can get that far (Halifax).
‘She’s got friends up there and she has family in Bradford as well but I don’t think she’s up there.
‘It’s very obvious she hasn’t (gone up to Halifax), its just a plan to put everyone off her scent.’
Asked if he has a message for her, Mr Slater said: ‘I would tell her to contact me or her mum, or anyone in the family and get home.
‘We’re all worried and we just want her safe and sound. All the family is worried for her.
‘I don’t know where she is, it’s just worrying. She’s only 14, we’re all worried and we want her home safe and sound.’
Olivia’s cryptic note said: ‘I’m going to Halifax for a bit to sort myself out. I broke up with Conrad like you wanted. I don’t know when I’ll be back. I’m sorry.’
Mr Smith previously told the Clacton Gazette he has struggled to sleep since her disappearance on Tuesday.
He said: ‘I am feeling distraught and I would just like her to come to mine and I love her – I just want my daughter home.’
Pictured: Olivia, who is described as about 5ft tall with a slim build
In a direct appeal to her daughter Olivia, Samantha Smith said: ‘Come home where it’s safe and I know where you are. I don’t understand why you’ve gone. There’s no need to do this’
In a direct appeal to her daughter Olivia, Ms Smith said: ‘Come home where it’s safe and I know where you are. I don’t understand why you’ve gone. There’s no need to do this.
‘You need to come home, be with your family and rebuild the relationships.’
Ms Smith explained Olivia is the youngest of her four children, three of whom have ‘flown the nest.’ ‘I hadn’t prepared myself for her to go yet,’ she added.
Ms Smith said Olivia’s personality shifted when she met Conrad last year, changing from ‘bubbly’ and ‘outgoing’ to someone who hid away in her room.
‘Her personality changed when she met him,’ she added. ‘She would stay in her bedroom. I’d pop up every 10 minutes to see if she was okay and if she wanted a drink.
‘I was constantly saying ‘Do you want me to come and sit with you’ or ‘Do you want to come downstairs with me?’
‘Before then, she was quite bubbly and outgoing. She had plenty of friends. She’s absolutely besotted with him. She thinks he’s the love of her life.
‘It’s tiring and exhausting to be constantly aware that your child’s gone missing.’
Essex Police has asked anyone who knows where Olivia is to call 101.