Thirteen-year-old schoolgirl Filipa Lourenço left home in Vale de Milhaços, Seixal, for school three weeks ago and, as far as police can tell, hasn’t been seen by family or friends ever since.
But her absence is being seen as “voluntary” due to a text message she is believed to have sent a friend “at the beginning of February”, writes Correio da Manhã.
In the message, only-child Filipa said she would be spending “a few days away” with her boyfriend.
The fact that since her disappearance she has not been in touch with friends “as she was normally”, adds CM, is baffling authorities.
PJ police have been “analysing” dozens of text messages and going through Filipa’s tablet and computer left behind at her home, but the process “could take some time to conclude”.
Detectives have already spoken with teachers and staff at the girl’s school, showing them photographs of teenage boys “to see if they can remember any of them being at the school recently”.
The same photos have been shown to the parents, says CM, suggesting the problem is that no-one knows yet who Filipa’s boyfriend could be.
For now, no firm leads have been found, the paper concludes.
When the child left home on Monday February 15 she had less than €20 on her and was carrying a schoolbag.
