Mum missing along with five daughters in UK

A MISSING woman and her five daughters may be hiding from a nationwide police search in the Westcountry to prevent the girls being taken into care.

Natalie Bracht, 35, left her home in Sunderland on May 17 with her daughters – aged between five and 13 – when she learned they might be taken into foster care. The family was last spotted in the Dartmoor area almost five months ago.

Police have renewed their appeal for more information about the family's whereabouts, and are encouraging people to contact them if they have seen the family.

Miss Bracht, who moved to the North East in 2006 with her daughters from Dusseldorf in Germany, was judged by medical experts to be suffering from a personality disorder so there is concern for the welfare of the girls.

On the evening of June 27, a woman matching her description and accompanied by five children bought a bus ticket from Exeter to Moretonhampstead, arriving at 7.10pm. Police focused their search on the area, but they have still not located the family. Detective Chief Inspector Ian Bentham of Northumbria Police, who has been leading the search, said: "There's no indication that she's moved from the area. It's quite unusual to see a single woman with five girls, even more so if you combine that with a German accent.