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Missing Sailor Girl Laura Dekker Found On St. Martin In Caribbean

by amyellensoden | December 21, 2009 at 11:47 am

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14-year-old sailor girl Laura Dekker was found on Sunday night after going missing from her Utrecht home on Friday. Dekker was found on the Caribbean island of St. Martin after going missing earlier on the weekend.

Dekker's plans to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone were rebuked by social services. Two months later she was placed under state supervision to prevent her from making the trip. Specific details about Dekker's escape mission remain unknown until she returns home.

She went missing on Friday after taking £3,100 (3500 euros) in cash from her bank account earlier in the week. According to Dutch press reports, she left a letter for her father, Dick Dekker, before disappearing.

Miss Dekker was said by her family to be in a "negative spiral" after the Utrecht District Court placed her under the supervision of child care authorities in October, after forbidding her voyage in the summer.

According to a Utrecht police spokesperson, Dekker was recognized by a woman living on the island of St. Martin who was familiar with story that began on Friday.

Dekker is currently in the process of returning home to the Netherlands from St. Martin, an island located near the Virgin Islands in the Dutch Antilles.

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