Lost and found: Locker prank leads Hong Kong police to find schoolgirl who was missing from home for three months

The 16-year-old, who says a ‘strong wind’ slammed the locker door shut, has been reunited with her parents after leaving home on December 30

Firefighters were required to break into the 90cm unit, though the girl was uninjured

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A 16-year-old who ran away from home in late December is back with her parents – after trapping herself in a 90cm mall locker. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:05pm, 8 Apr 2020Updated: 3:30pm, 8 Apr 2020

A schoolgirl reported missing more than three months ago has finally been found by police – not due to an investigation, but because of a prank.

The 16-year-old, who failed to return after leaving her parents home in late December, was hanging out with friends at the Ching Long Shopping Centre in Hong Kong’s Kai Tak area on Wednesday morning when she decided to stuff herself into one of the 90cm lockers used to hold items for online shoppers.

“The girl found one of the lockers wide open. She climbed into it for fun and hid herself inside, but [she told us] the door was suddenly slammed by strong wind. She was unable to open it,” a police spokesman said.

The missing schoolgirl had been hanging out with friends in a publicly accessible corridor at the Ching Long Shopping Centre when she decided to climb into an open locker. Photo: Wikipedia

After shouting for help, two male friends who had been with her were forced to seek help from a security guard, who then called police.

Emergency personnel were called to the shopping centre on Muk Chui Street shortly after she became trapped at about 6.15pm.