Roma community and police praised for finding missing Pamela Horvathova

The 16-year-old was found safe and well last week after a huge missing persons investigation, involving dozens of officers and multiple appeals to the Roma community in Sheffield and Slovakia.

Councillor Jackie Drayton, cabinet member for children and families at Sheffield City Council, who was involved in the investigation said: “I think it’s really fantastic news that Pamela has been found, she’s safe and well done to all the people involved. The police and local Roma community have really helped. There were hundreds of people at a meeting I went to and they were all saying ‘I want to help’.

“We made sure that she knew if she was out there listening, or young people who might know her, that she wasn’t in trouble if she just left home after an argument or whatever - we just wanted to know that she was safe. It’s great that we know she’s there, we still have more information to find out but it’s wonderful and a really good news story for the police and getting the community involved in helping find somebody.”

Pamela, who lives in Darnall and studies at Sheffield College, was previously seen at iceSheffield on December 19.

At a press conference, Supt Paul McCurry, who led the investigation, said: “This demonstrates the impact we can have in working together to protect our communities and every person within them. “Pamela was found as a direct result of the public getting involved in this investigation and I will be forever grateful for the public’s support in helping us find Pamela.”