11-year-old Saudi girl Nouf Al Qahtani found two days after going missing

Dubai: Nouf Al Qahtani, an 11-year-old Saudi girl who went missing from her family’s home in Riyadh, was found alive and in good health on Wednesday, Riyadh Police said in a tweet.

The girl went missing on Monday after she left house to dump garbage, thanks to social media users who launched a rigorous social media campaign to find her.

“Nouf is back, she is safe and in good health,” said Major. Khalid Al Kraidis, media spokesman of Riyadh police, who shared the good news of finding the girl following an intensive search for two days.

He said the Riyadh police received information that Nouf went missing from Al Musa neighbourhood in Riyadh on Monday morning. “Security authorities were able to find her in Riyadh. She is in good health and the authorities have completed all legal formalities to reunite her with her family,” Al Kraidis said.

Thani Al Qahtani, Nouf’s brother, said the family came from Al Harajah village in the southern Asir region for their sick father to undergo medical tests in hospital in Riyadh. “Nouf went out of their residence Monday morning to throw garbage, but she did not come back and disappeared without any trace,” he said.

The report about Nouf’s disappearance saw several social media users start a campaign to find her.

The campaign, with the hashtag #MissingNoufAlQahtani, appealed to anyone who saw her or had any information about her to immediately contact her family. The campaign coincided with the massive search operation by security forces, and eventually led to finding the girl.