KEY POINTS:
A pregnant 14-year-old accused of drink-driving twice in the past week in Whangarei has escaped from Child, Youth and Family care.
CYF has grave concerns for the girl, who escaped from a supervised home in Auckland yesterday.
The organisation's deputy chief executive, Ray Smith, said that in hindsight the girl's determination to reject help had been underestimated.
The priority was to get her and her unborn baby the support and care they needed, he told Newstalk ZB.
He asked anyone who knew where she was to contact police immediately.
It is the second time the girl, who is four months pregnant, has done a runner from CYF's care.
Police pulled her over on Saturday night and she recorded a level of 766 micrograms per litre of breath - more than five times the legal limit for her age of 150mcg.
Earlier last week she had recorded a level of 828mcg - 5 times the legal limit - after she was spotted driving erratically.
She was placed in CYF custody after the second incident, but escaped when CYF officials tried to take her to a Ministry of Social Development home in Auckland, said acting Sergeant Mike Greenwood of the Whangarei police.
"When they got to Portland, she said she was feeling sick. When they stopped the car she opened the door and took off," he told the Northern Advocate.
She was found early on Sunday when she turned up at her home, Whangarei-Kaipara police area commander Inspector Paul Dimery said.
The girl's "shocking" case was "part of an issue that's bigger than the individual and not unique to Northland", he told the Advocate.
There was a huge problem with alcohol nationally and it was obvious to police more teenagers were drinking since the drinking age had been lowered to 18, he said.
- NZPA
