Brit teen missing in Thailand after chilling message found 4000 miles away

The family of a British teenager who has vanished whilst on holiday in Thailand are frantic with worry after Thai police declared her disappearance “a high priority”. Bella May Culley was last seen alive in the Pattaya area on Saturday but hasn’t been in contact with her family since. Relatives have flown out to the country to search for Bella and her mum said they are all desperate to heard that she is safe.

The 18-year-old flew out to the Philippines just after Easter and had been travelling with a friend around the islands. She is believed to have flown to Thailand on around May 3. She was in regular contact with her mum Lyanne Kennedy and was due to speak with her in an scheduled call on Saturday but the family has had no word since and her phone is thought to be switched off.

But a shocking development in Bella's case emerged on Tuesday night, after police revealed that the teenager had been found - 4000 miles away in Georgia, which borders Russia.

Cleveland Police revealed after a four-day international search for Bella that "an 18-year-old woman from Billingham has been arrested there on suspicion of drugs offences and that she remains in their custody."

Georgian authorities are alleging that Bella May Culley was caught with 14 kilos of cannabis after her baggage was flagged by an airport scanner as she entered the country.

Images from the former Soviet country show the teenager in handcuffs as she was taken into custody at a police station in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi.

A report in local media claims that the British teen was found with " 34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana were found in the passenger's bag, as well as 20 packages of hashish."

Culley has been charged with the illegal purchase and storage of a large amount of narcotics, including cannabis, as well as for importing them into Georgia, the Mail has reported. The teen faces up to 20 years or life imprisonment if found guilty of these charges.

The Georgian press reports that Culley has been denied bail, after the judge decided that she posed a flight risk before her trial.

Bella's father Neil Culley had flown from the family home in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, out to Thailand with his sister Kerrie Culley to assist police in their search earlier on Tuesday.

Frantic Lyanne told Teesside Live: “She flew out to the Philippines after Easter with a friend and she was there for three weeks. She was posting loads of pictures and then she went to Thailand on about May 3.

“The last message she sent was to me and that was on on Saturday at 5.30pm saying she was going to Facetime me later. That was the last message anyone has received from what we can figure out up to now.

“I’m just waiting on her dad who is now in Bangkok to get back with any more information. I just want her home and safe or to hear her gorgeous little voice.”

The family said police in Thailand had been investigating Bella's case as a “high priority”.

They also revealed that Cleveland Police has also been contacted and anyone who has heard from Bella or has any information is being urged to contact the force.

In a Facebook post before Bella's discovery in Georgia, the family wrote: “Information on Bella May is now urgently needed on the last known communication with Bella May. The police are now involved over here and in Thailand. “Anything could help even if you think it isn’t relevant, it could be.”