Desperate search as girl, 14, missing after taking family dog for walk at beauty spot

Police have launched an urgent search for a 14-year-old girl who disappeared after taking the family for a walk.

said Isabella Hayward, known as Bella, was last seen at about 12.30pm yesterday when she left her home in the Allerton Bywater area of to walk the family cockapoo, named Cooper. It is thought she may have entered the St Aidan’sreserve. Officers continued to search the area on Saturday. A statement from West Yorkshire Police said: "Police are continuing to appeal for information to help trace a 14-year-old girl who has gone missing from home in Leeds.

"Isabella Hayward, known as Bella, was last seen at about 12.30pm yesterday when she left her home in Allerton Bywater to walk the family cockapoo Cooper, possibly at the nearby St Aidan’s nature reserve.

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"She was reported missing after she failed to return home later that afternoon. The dog is also still missing.

"Isabella is described as wearing a stone-coloured White Fox top and black leggings. Cooper is a sandy coloured cockapoo with a black lead and a blue collar.

"Officers are continuing to carry out extensive enquiries and searches of the area to find her."

Police have asked anyone who has seen Isabella or could have any information would help to locate her is asked to contact Leeds District CID via 101 quoting log 1716 of April 18 or online via the website.

How many people go missing every year?

According to statistics from the charity Missing People, over 170,000 people are reported missing in the UK each year.

It's equivalent to one person disappearing roughly every 90 seconds.

Around 96,000 of this number are adults, and nearly 75,000 are children.

According to the National Crime Agency, the majority of those who are reported missing are found within two days.

However, thousands of people remain 'long-term missing', meaning there has been no report of their whereabouts for at least 12 months.

The latest estimate from 2022 put this number at 5,200.

• The Mirror is using its platform to launch Missed – a campaign to shine a light on underrepresented public-facing missing persons in the UK via a live interactive map, in collaboration with . Because every missing person, no matter their background or circumstances, is someone’s loved one. And they are always Missed.