KEY POINTS:
The mother of a 14-year-old girl prone to risky behaviour fears she may have been abducted.
Chelsea Alyssa Close, who fled from Child, Youth and Family custody in Hikurangi nearly a month ago, has been missing since June 7.
Pauline Cardiff, of Foxton, said she feared her daughter might have "been taken" by somebody.
"My husband got a text from her [a few days after she went missing] saying she had been taken and not run away. That's so out of character for her," she said.
While Chelsea had run off before, she had "always contacted my husband or me or her nana to let us know she was okay. She would always make contact."
The teenager has run away from care before but this is the longest stint without contacting her family.
Ms Cardiff hopes to travel to Whangarei in the next few days to help look for her daughter.
"This is not like her at all and I'm out of my mind with worry. CYF says it is doing everything it can to find her, but it doesn't look enough from here," she said. "I need to know. Has somebody got her? Is she safe? Where is she and is she okay?"
Whangarei police Detective Sergeant Steve Simpkin said Chelsea was moved from CYF care in Kaikohe to a Hikurangi home last month but was not happy about the change.
CYF contacted police hours after she went missing. Police said Chelsea also had a history of "at-risk behaviour" and had previously been found living on the streets of Auckland.
Police learned she was admitted to Whangarei Hospital on June 10, three days after disappearing from Hikurangi.
A member of the public had seen the unwell teenager on a service station forecourt and called an ambulance. But after getting medical treatment and staying overnight, Chelsea left the hospital.
"Her family, police and CYF are getting concerned," Mr Simpkin said. The reason for the delay in asking for public help, he said, was because of Chelsea's history of absconding.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE
