Police believe missing Bahraini teenager Shahad Al Gallaf left home of her own free will but concern over her well-being remains and a huge reward has been offered for her safe return.
The 14-year-old schoolgirl has not been seen since Friday morning after vanishing from outside her home in Isa Town, as reported by the GDN.
“Efforts to find the missing girl continue and preliminary information indicates that she left her house of her own free will, following a family dispute,” the Interior Ministry said. The Southern Governorate Police Directorate added that it was confident she was still in Bahrain and had not been taken out of the country.
Businesswoman Nadia Al Omar has offered a reward of BD5,000 for anyone who can find Shahad and bring her home safely.
The GDN earlier reported that Shahad was helping her mother place picnic items into the family car near Block 806 on Cairo Road when she disappeared at around 6am.
Manal Marzook Khamis, 40, went inside to get more supplies for the trip to a chalet in Zallaq, but when she came back outside, her only child was gone.
“I’m devastated. I have yet to hear from my daughter,” Ms Khamis told the GDN yesterday. “She didn’t take her phone and no calls were made on it.
“Police said they’re looking for her, but there’s been no word – she just vanished, and I can’t believe it all happened in a few minutes.”
The single mother insisted that her daughter was happy and ‘singing’ before going missing. The teenager’s decision to leave her phone behind surprised her mother, who said that she never goes anywhere without it.
Ms Khamis was at the Isa Town police station until late yesterday afternoon, after which the Southern Police Directorate released their preliminary findings.
The police statement came shortly after the offer of a reward for information leading to the child’s safe return.
Ms Al Omar hopes her BD5,000 offer will help bring an end to the upset.
“I’m a mother, and I understand the mother’s pain. I believe it’s our social responsibility to assist her in finding the child,” Ms Al Omar told the GDN.
Businessman Hamad Fakhro initially offered a BD2,000 reward too as he feared the schoolgirl might have been kidnapped, a theory later dismissed by the authorities.
“Kidnapping a child, as suggested as a possibility at the beginning, is something that is not acceptable – it is strange that such a thing could happen in our society,” Mr Fakhro told the GDN. “That’s why I announced the reward.
“However, once I’d learned she left home on her own free will, and it is a matter between the mother and the girl, I withdrew it.”
According to her teachers, Shahad, a grade nine student at the Indian School Bahrain, is a well-behaved and quiet child.
“Nowadays, it’s online classes, and she was consistent in her attendance, as confirmed by her teachers,” said a senior ISB academic.
“Her class teacher describes her as a quiet and well-mannered child,” added the teacher, noting that the school has not been contacted by anyone regarding Shahad’s missing.
The GDN reported yesterday that the Southern Governorate Police Directorate launched an investigation and inquiries into the girl’s absence following Ms Khamis reporting the incident to the nearest police station at 6pm after she had been missing all day. Yesterday a spokesman said officers were doing all they could to find her.
“Initial details indicate that the girl went out of the home of her own free will because of a family dispute, and she is still in Bahrain,” a statement added. “The directorate continues the investigation.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the police or the family on 66610106.
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