Police appealing for witnesses after 13 year old girl found in distressed state

Girl was found in Leyland with bruising to her legs

Author: Louisa KingPublished 11th Oct 2023

Police are looking for witnesses who saw a teenage girl in a distressed state in Leyland last Thursday (October 5th).

The girl, aged 13, was found by a dog walker in a very disorientated state and with significant bruising to her legs, at around 7.30pm close to Tesco.

The girl later told officers that she could not remember much prior to this and had no idea how or why she had ended up injured or so disorientated. It is thought she had been walking in the Canberra Road and King Street areas before she was found.

The dog walker who found her sought help and was able to get her home to her parents, however did not leave his name. We would now like to speak to him to get more information from him and would urge him to call us.

We would also like to speak to anybody who saw the girl between around 5.30pm and 7.30pm, and can help us piece together a timeline of what may have happened. She is described as white, of slim build, around 5ft tall, with long brown hair which was tied in a ponytail. She was wearing pale blue shorts, a black Nike top and black, grey and pink trainers.

Det Sgt Andrew Causey, of Lancashire Police’s South Division, said: “We appreciate this is quite a vague appeal but the girl was injured and very confused, with little memory of the previous two hours, so we need to establish what has happened and ascertain whether anything criminal took place.

“She knows that around 5.30pm she met some friends close to Tesco but can remember very little from then until she was taken home.

“Anybody who saw her and can help us is asked to get in touch. Similarly, if anybody thinks they know who the good Samaritan was – or if they see this appeal – we would ask them to get in touch.”

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.