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New sighting of missing Lillia, 13, as concern grows and mother says: 'My heart is breaking without you here'

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Cite

Haigh, E. (2026, September 19). New sighting of missing Lillia, 13, as concern grows and mother says: 'My heart is breaking without you here'. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16144207/New-sighting-missing-Lillia-13.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-19 · by Elizabeth Haigh

Quick Summary

Greater Manchester Police reported that 13-year-old Lillia, who went missing from Bolton on September 11, was last spotted at Manchester Piccadilly bus station on September 14. CCTV footage shows Lillia wearing a black zip-up hoodie, dark trousers, and a black Nike backpack before boarding the number 36 bus in Salford. Her mother Jessica issued an emotional appeal for her safe return, expressing deep concern and heartbreak at not knowing where she is or why she left home unexpectedly.
Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 14, 13-year-old Lillia was last seen at Manchester Piccadilly bus station, having boarded a number 36 bus from Salford earlier. Police from Greater Manchester have been actively searching for her since she went missing on September 11. Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley of GMP’s Bolton district thanked the public and media for their support, emphasizing ongoing efforts to locate Lillia through hours of CCTV footage analysis.

Lillia is described as white, slim, approximately 5ft 5in tall, with light brown hair and glasses. Her mother Jessica issued a tearful appeal for her safe return. On September 20, the news broke that Lillia had been found "safe and well" in Manchester's city center by Greater Manchester Police, bringing relief to her family.

The police thanked everyone who helped share information and urged continued assistance through their dedicated Major Incident Portal or anonymously via Crimestoppers at 0800 555 111.

Written for “Missing Teen Found Safe” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Missing Teen Found Safe
Crime & Law · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 3 of 18 claims Outlet record 64/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe two different missing persons cases involving girls of similar ages but in different locations and times.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 14 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different points in time regarding Lillia's disappearance and do not focus on a single specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
34
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
2 of 34 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 9143 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Elizabeth Haigh
70 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Meghan and her father Thomas Sr have been estranged since 2018, the year she married Harry Thomas Markle Jr, Meghan's brother, claimed to have found the child-abuse material packed up in boxes at his father's Philippines home Markle Sr denies the allegations, calling them 'sick lies' and has said he will do 'whatever it takes' to clear his name.
Also by Elizabeth Haigh
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 70 articles by Elizabeth Haigh →

Topics

Bolton Daily Mail GMP Greater Manchester Greater Manchester Police

Subjects

Lillia PERSON · 18× Salford GPE · 4× Bolton PERSON · 3× GMP ORG · 2× Greater Manchester GPE · 2× Greater Manchester Police ORG · 2× Helen Critchley PERSON · 2× Jessica PERSON · 2× Manchester GPE · 2× Daily Mail ORG · 1×

Narrative

Lillia, 13, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, was reported missing by her family on September 11 Lillia's mother Jessica (right) weeps as Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley reads out an appeal for the teenager to come home Greater Manchester Police said on Saturday the teenager was last seen at Manchester Piccadilly bus station at 10.36am on Monday Lillia's mother Jessica yesterday made a tearful appeal for her safe return.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19
🔮 She added: 'Lillia comes from a very loving family with a mum who does an amazing job and I couldn’t ask for a better mum for lil. '

Claims (34 extracted, 2 hedged)

A missing teenage girl was last seen at a city bus station days after leaving her family home, police revealed today, as her mother made a heartbreaking appeal. asserted
mother → miss → appeal
Lillia, 13, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, was reported missing by her family on September 11. asserted
Lillia → report → September
Police have been urgently appealing to the public for help locating her after she vanished more than a week ago. asserted
she → appeal → her
In an update on Saturday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said she was last seen at Manchester Piccadilly bus station at 10.36am of Monday, September 14. asserted
she → say → Monday
CCTV footage from the bus station shows Lillia wearing a black zip-up hooded top, dark trousers and a black Nike backpack. asserted
Lillia → show → top
She is believed to have boarded the number 36 bus in Salford and alighted at the station. asserted
She → believe → station
Lillia is described as white, slim, around 5ft 5in, with light brown hair and glasses. asserted
Lillia → describe → hair
Previously the last sighting they had of the teenager was at 1.50pm on Saturday at the Trafford Centre shopping complex – where she boarded the 247 bus towards Altrincham. asserted
she → have → Altrincham
At that time, she was wearing light blue baggy jeans. asserted
she → wear → jeans
Officers scouring CCTV footage identified a further sighting of Lillia at the McDonald's in Manchester city centre's Market Street on Sunday at about 8.20pm. asserted
Officers → scour → 8.20pm
Lillia, 13, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, was reported missing by her family on September 11 Lillia's mother Jessica (right) weeps as Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley reads out an appeal for the teenager to come home Greater Manchester Police said on Saturday the teenager was last seen at Manchester Piccadilly bus station at 10.36am on Monday Lillia's mother Jessica yesterday made a tearful appeal for her safe return. asserted
mother → report → return
She said: 'Lill, I love you so so much. asserted
I → say → you
My heart is breaking without you here. asserted
heart → break → ?
'I need to know you are safe. asserted
you → need → ?
We all need you back home safe and well.' asserted
We → need → you
Meanwhile Lillia's aunt Nina posted on social media as part of the family's appeal, saying she has no phone on her, very little money and no supplies other than her rucksack. asserted
she → post → rucksack
She added: 'Lillia comes from a very loving family with a mum who does an amazing job and I couldn’t ask for a better mum for lil. ' asserted
I → add → lil
I was with Lillia a few weeks ago and asked her how school and life was, she showed no concerns and said everything was good, I gave her a hug and told her to keep being good for her mam. asserted
I → ask → mam
'As a family we have no idea what has made Lillia become untraceable.' asserted
Lillia → have → idea
She said the family are having sleepless nights and described the 'heartbreak' of Lillia's mother as 'horrific'. asserted
family → say → mother
'If anyone is with Lillia please tell her that she isn’t in trouble and once home everything will be ok.' asserted
everything → tell → trouble
Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley, of GMP, said: 'I would like to take this opportunity to thank the public and the media for your continued support as we continue our inquiries to locate Lillia. asserted
we → say → Lillia
Lillia was also previously seen wearing light blue baggy jeans, the same black hoodie and a black backpack ' asserted
Lillia → see → jeans
Our thoughts continue to be with her family, and friends, I would like to thank her mum for her support with our appeals over the past few days. asserted
I → continue → days
She has shown incredible strength throughout, and we are doing all we can to bring her daughter back home to her. asserted
we → show → her
Officers are making every effort to locate Lillia, and our team have been working through hours of CCTV footage and exploring every avenue to try and find her. asserted
team → make → her
I can now confirm that our last known current sighting was of Lillia at Manchester Piccadilly bus station at 10.36am on the morning on Monday 14 September. asserted
sighting → confirm → Monday
We can also share that she exited the number 36 bus at Piccadilly, with her boarding it in Salford. asserted
her → share → Salford
That bus service travels from Bolton through Salford and into Manchester city centre. asserted
service → travel → centre
If anyone has any information regarding Lillia's whereabouts or movements from this bus – or you were on the bus at the time she was also on there or when she got on in Salford or off in Piccadilly – please contact us via 101 or the Major Incident Portal below. ' asserted
she → have → 101
We are also still keen to hear from anyone who may have been in Piccadilly Gardens on Sunday 13 September around 8.20pm, or saw her in McDonald's at that time. uncertain
who → hear → time
Monday 14 September is the last confirmed sighting of Lillia and our investigation currently covers the whole of Greater Manchester with officers across the force being asked to support our enquiries. asserted
officers → confirm → enquiries
We are also mindful that Lillia could have travelled outside of the Manchester area and are keeping an open mind regarding this possibility.' A major incident public portal has been set up where people can submit information on the GMP website. uncertain
people → travel → website
Information can also be passed anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. asserted
Information → pass → 111
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