According to local news website pelop.gr, investigators working on the case of the missing 16-year-old from Patras, named Laura, are looking closely at her motivations for running away from home.
Laura, who has been missing since Thursday, January 8, 2026, was fully prepared for her departure and appears to have been planning her movements for a long time.
Investigators are examining reports that Laura had previously been accommodated in a child protection facility in Germany, and that she was placed in the facility after a neighbor in Germany filed a complaint alleging that the child had been a victim of abuse. It is not clear if it was verbal or physical abuse. Laura later returned to her family following a court decision in Germany, and the report at pelop.gr does not state whether the allegations were substantiated.
Since Laura’s disappearance, her friends have told local journalists that the missing girl felt heavily oppressed and subject to many restrictions.
Meanwhile, an article at pelop.gr states that Laura had made social media posts referring to fear and abuse. In one post, she reportedly wrote: “One day you will wake up and I will be gone,” and had tagged the word “abuse” in English in several posts.
Speaking to STAR TV, a friend of Laura’s said: “One day before she disappeared, we went for a walk. She told me she wanted to leave. She said she had an 18-year-old friend named Anna who wanted to visit her grandmother in Athens. She also asked me to keep a bag that contained various items she had bought.” Her friend added: “The bag had a black jacket, a black cap, and a black bag. She was very withdrawn. When we were in middle school, she used to sit alone. Many times, when nothing specific was happening, she said she wanted to die.”
Authorities are still searching for Laura and believe she has not left Greece.
