Missing teen: When somebody asks for help, don't say 'maybe later'

A teenage girl who sparked a police search last summer when she ran away from home in her pyjamas has warned young people need immediate support when they are in crisis.

A year on from her disappearance Larissa, also known as Lara, told the BBC's Reported Missing programme: "When somebody asks for help, you don't say 'maybe later', you've got to do it now."

The TV documentary shows the 16-year-old's mother Karen phoning the police to report her missing.

It followed what she called a "trivial argument" at their home in the south of Glasgow in July 2025.

It was not the first time Larissa had run away but Karen said something was "niggling" her this time.

She was worried her daughter wanted "to do something to herself".

Karen told police Larissa was bipolar and had a history of self-harming.

At Pollok police station, Sgt Ross Kelly tells the programme his concerns were heightened by the circumstances in which Larissa went missing.

He tasks officers with scouring the local area to see if they can spot her quickly.

"Once she's out of that housing estate then it becomes harder to find her," he says.

Police Scotland investigates between 16,000 and 18,000 missing person cases each year, with the majority aged 17 and under.

The latest data shows 99% of people are traced alive and fewer have been reported missing in recent years.

However, police say these can be some of the most complex investigations and poor mental health is playing a growing role.

Officers say young people who were children during lockdown are presenting with serious mental health issues.

Sgt Kelly tells the programme whenever he comes on shift there is "quite a high chance" of dealing with a young person with poor mental health.

Larissa's mother tells the documentary her daughter has been supported by children's mental health services (CAMHS) since the age of five, when she said she heard a voice telling her to self-harm.

At the age of eight her father took his own life and Karen says Larissa hit crisis point during the pandemic when her sister was found to have a brain tumour.

"The behaviour spiralled slowly out of control from there," she adds.

During a previous bipolar episode she had been found at Rouken Glen, a vast country park just 20 minutes from her house, so police head there to try to trace her.

While teams of officers scour the park, Karen discovers her daughter has taken over £200 in cash from home, prompting Sgt Kelly to widen the search.

After Larissa is missing overnight without her medication, officers escalate the search to “high risk”.

As police conduct door-to-door inquiries and check CCTV they receive information that a young woman matching her description has been admitted to hospital after an attempted overdose.

They rush to the scene to confirm it is Larissa and are able to inform Karen that her daughter has been found.

Almost a year on, Larissa tells the programme she is back on her medication and is now "much better".

She says she felt like everything was "unravelling" when she hit crisis point.

"I was a ticking timebomb at that point", she says.

"I believe that talking about mental illness is one of the best things to do.

"I am not afraid of saying 'yes, I am bipolar'."

Larissa says she is looking forward to the future and her goal is to be a book illustrator.

"When you live your whole life that way and you finally have some peace, you don't want to go back there," she says.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, help and support is available at BBC Action Line.