A teenage schoolgirl didn’t attend class at her Melbourne high school for three months before her teachers finally reported her as missing, police say.
Detectives then discovered the 17-year-old’s mother was also missing, with police now having serious concerns for the pair’s wellbeing.
“We believe they haven’t left the country at this stage, but honestly we’ve got no idea where they may be,” Senior Constable Lyndel Oatway told reporters.
Police say it is especially concerning that the 17-year-old girl, Cin (Clorita) Mon Tong, has not contacted any of her school friends or even accessed her Facebook account since her disappearance.
She was last seen on February 22 at University High School in the city’s central suburb of Parkville.
Her teachers had tried to find her at the last known address on file in a nearby suburb, police say, before finally calling police.
“Her teachers reported her as missing on the 22nd of May,” said Snr Const Oatway.
“But I’m not sure why the school waited until the 22nd of May (to report her as missing).”
It’s not known when Cin’s mother, 43-year-old Shuk Yin (Amy) Fu, was last seen. The pair had lived in the Box Hill area before moving to an address in Fitzroy.
Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu said the case of any missing child was shocking.
“On the surface, that would be a matter of concern,” he said.
“There are certainly responsibilities which fall to schools for children who don’t turn up.”
The school’s principal, Rob Newton, said he first heard of the case from the media.
He said it was also protocol for these types of incidents to go through him.
Police are asking anyone who may have seen the missing pair to contact them immediately.
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