A 15-year-old teenage runaway whose family believed she had fallen into the hands of internet paedophiles has been found “safe and well”, PJ police in Portimão confirmed on Tuesday.
According to her family, Sofia Gil had been supremely rebellious. Following a stint in a youth institution in Lisbon, where she grew up, her mother moved with her to the Algarve – the idea being to remove the teenager from ‘former contacts’.
While on the run, the teenager “was being supported by old school friends”, said the authorities.
Before Sofia ran away and concerned for her safety, mother Rosa Laranjeiro had decided to seize her daughter’s phone, where she is understood to have found messages of a sexual nature exchanged with men, and a photograph of her daughter posted on a porno site.
The discovery led to another ‘mother and daughter’ showdown, after which the traumatised youngster took pills.
She then appears to have ‘taken advantage’ of a family trip back ‘home’ to Amadora to go AWOL (on March 23).
