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Dutch teenager found in Caribbean | |
(about 8 hours later) | |
A Dutch teenager barred from sailing solo around the world because of her age has been found on a Caribbean island after going missing, police say. | |
Laura Dekker, 14, was located on the Dutch Antilles island of St Maarten three days after relatives in the Netherlands reported her as missing. | |
She has been under supervision since a court blocked her bid to become the youngest person to sail the globe solo. | |
Police said earlier they did not suspect any crime had been committed. | |
The court order in the city of Utrecht placed Miss Dekker under state supervision, while living with her father, until the end of her school year in July 2010. | |
After she vanished on Friday, her boat was found moored at its berth and she appears to have left her father's home on her own. | |
An unconfirmed Dutch newspaper report said she had withdrawn 3,500 euros ($5,000) from her bank account. | |
Seasoned sailor | |
At the time of the much-publicised court ruling in October, Miss Dekker's spokeswoman said she was disappointed but that the teenager could still set the record if she were to sail next year. | |
Miss Dekker is a seasoned sailor who was born on a yacht off the coast of New Zealand during a seven-year world trip. | Miss Dekker is a seasoned sailor who was born on a yacht off the coast of New Zealand during a seven-year world trip. |
She had a yacht by the age of six and began sailing solo when she was 10. | She had a yacht by the age of six and began sailing solo when she was 10. |
Her father, Dick Dekker, supports her attempt at the record, while her mother has expressed some concerns. | Her father, Dick Dekker, supports her attempt at the record, while her mother has expressed some concerns. |
Miss Dekker had planned to spend about two years aboard her 8-m (26-ft) boat, Guppy, to break the record set in August by a 17-year-old UK boy. | |
Mike Perham tackled 50ft waves, gale force winds and technical problems during the 45,000-km (28,000-mile) circumnavigation, which took him nine months. |