Boy band ask missing fan to phone home
Source: backstreetm.cjb.net
9:46pm Saturday, 17th February 2001
The Backstreet Boys have asked a 13-year-old girl to contact her parents after she disappeared.
Michaela Montague disappeared from her home in Southampton on Valentine's Day.
It is thought she may have met a man through an internet chatroom.
Her mum Sasha Bryant said: "The Backstreet Boys are Michaela's favorite band and they have made an appeal for her to come home."
The 30-year-old added: "It's very hard at the moment and I really hope Michaela contacts us soon to tell us she is safe."
Police fear Michaela may have struck up a relationship with a man via an internet chatroom shortly before her disappearance.
Det Sgt Damon Kennard said: "We have no direct evidence that Michaela has gone off with someone, but she did access chatrooms prior to her disappearance and therefore we cannot rule out that she may have met someone.
"Michaela had no money and no bank account. We believe she disappeared in the clothes she was wearing because she had not packed a bag."
The youngster was described as a lively, bubbly teenager by her mother.
"Michaela had been to an internet cafe and we know the police are following this up. We just want to know she is safe," she said.
"If she has gone away on her own and she doesn't want to come back we just need to know she is okay. This is not like her. The last thing we said to each other before she disappeared was that we loved each other."
(c) Copyright Ananova Ltd 2001, all rights reserved.
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Missing Fan Returns
Source: Music365.com
A teenage BACKSTREET BOYS fan, who disappeared on Valentine's Day amid fears that she had struck up an Internet relationship with a man, has returned home safe and well.
Michaela Montague, 13, had last been seen talking to a man in a car near her home in Southampton.
A major hunt was launched after police feared she could have fallen prey to a paedophile that she had been chatting to via the Internet.
As the Backstreet Boys are Michaela's favourite group, they had made an emotional plea for her to return.
After a tearful reunion with her daughter, Michaela's mother, Sasha Bryant said, "We are just relieved to have Michaela back. We still don't know what happened or where she has been."
Mrs Bryant added, "One thing is for sure. I won't be letting her near Internet chat rooms ever again for the fear that meeting someone on the Internet sparked this off in the first place. There is every possibility that she met up with someone she contacted via a chat room."
Following their emotional reunion, Michaela spent an hour with police who have said they don't think she came to any harm.
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