The family of a British teenager who vanished while shopping in the Caribbean have said they are “beyond desperate” to find her as officials investigate the possibility she was kidnapped.
Delika White Lezama, 13, from west London, disappeared while visiting her grandmother in Trinidad more than two weeks ago.
She was last seen behind a corner shop near her grandmother’s house in the northeastern town of Sangre Grande at 4pm on 17 December.
After realising she had not come home ten minutes later, Delika’s mother and younger brother began a frantic search that is ongoing.
Her older sister, Danika, wrote on Facebook: “She’s still missing. Has anyone seen or know of her whereabouts? We are beyond desperate to find her.”
Messages sent to Delika’s phone have been delivered, but appear not to have been read.
A local search and rescue team are now investigating the possibility that Delika was kidnapped.
They are being assisted by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s Anti Kidnapping Unit.
The Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British child who has been reported missing in Trinidad and Tobago and are in touch with the local authorities.”
Local police say she was wearing a pink top, a black skirt and pink and white Nike Air Force trainers at the time of her disappearance.
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Delia White, her mother, who is from Greenford, told The Mirror: “She didn’t seem upset or angry when she left – there was nothing that would have made her run away.
“I can’t think of anyone who could abduct her in particular, but everyone knows us, the whole community knows us, and that I come and go from the UK to see my mum all the time.”
A street in Sangre Grande
She added: “My seven-year-old son is here as well, and I’m just trying to stay strong for him. At the moment I don’t have the energy even just to say how I’m feeling.”
Those with any knowledge of her whereabouts has been urged to contact Sangre Grande police.
