Missing Dubai girl found within 30 minutes, reunited with parents

Dubai: A six-year-old girl who went missing after becoming separated from her family in Dubai was found and reunited with her parents within 30 minutes, following a swift search by Dubai Police.

The child was found by officers from Naif Police Station after her father reported her missing in the Frij Al Murar area. Police said the girl was frightened and crying when officers located her on a street within the station’s area.

Brigadier Omar Mousa Ashour, director of Naif Police Station, said the station received a missing-child report from Dubai Police’s Command and Control Centre.

Officers immediately formed a search team and shared the girl’s photograph with patrols and investigation teams in the area.

Their efforts paid off within half an hour, when a Naif Police patrol spotted the child and took her safely to the station.

At the station, staff from the Victim Communication Section looked after the girl and helped calm her while officers contacted her family. She was later reunited safely with her parents.

According to Brigadier Ashour, the girl’s father told police that he had taken her with him to a grocery shop near their home.

After finishing his shopping, he turned around and realised that he could no longer see his daughter. He initially thought she might have gone back to their residential building, so he returned home and checked with her mother.

When he discovered that the girl was not there, he searched the surrounding area. After failing to find her, he contacted Dubai Police.

Dubai Police used the incident to remind parents and guardians to keep young children within sight, particularly in crowded places and public areas.

The force also urged families to teach children what to do if they become separated. Children should know that they can approach police officers or security personnel and clearly tell them they are lost.

Police stressed that close supervision can help prevent children from wandering away, while teaching them how to seek help can make it easier to locate them quickly if they do become separated.