Police search Norfolk Broads for couple missing from hired boat

PA

Police have closed a mile-long section of the River Bure between Salhouse and Wroxham as they search for the parents of a 13 year-old girl who was found alone on a boat in the Norfolk Broads on Saturday evening.

BBC News reports that Norfolk Police had a call at 5pm on Saturday form a member of the public who was concerned that a hire boat had not been returned as arranged.

Soon after, the boat was found tied to a tree near Salhouse Little Broad, with the 13-year-old girl inside.

Officers closed the river in the early hours of this morning in order to search for the missing couple, and it is likely that it will remain closed all day.

The Sun reports that there are fears that the couple, who were on a boating holiday with their daughter, may have fallen into the water and drowned.

A Norfolk police spokesman told The Sun that the girl spent the evening in protective custody and will be spoken to by specially trained officers today.

The spokesperson said: "The boat has been recovered and returned to a boat yard at Horning where the boat will be examined.

"Enquiries are on-going to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident and to establish the whereabouts of the 13 year old's parents.

"It is an on-going inquiry. We are searching for the girl's mother and her boyfriend."

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