An 11-year-old girl who fled from isolation at school is feared to have taken part in a sick Facebook game encouraging children to vanish for two days.
Leah Taylor went missing from Marvell College in Hull, East Yorkshire, for more than 24 hours before being found the next afternoon with another girl aged 12.
She had fled the school before she could be picked up by her grandmother Lynn Weatherill, who was left her fearing the worst as she searched through the night.
Leah Taylor, 11, went missing from Marvell College in Hull, East Yorkshire, earlier this week
Various sightings of Little Mix fan Leah were posted on social media after an appeal, but it was not until 5pm on Tuesday that she was found and taken to a police station.
Now, Miss Weatherill, 51, has issued a warning about the ’48-Hour Challenge’, a dangerous new craze on Facebook encouraging children to go missing.
Leah said she did not take part in the challenge – but Miss Weatherill, who has 19 grandchildren, believes that she might have been duped into taking part by others.
She said: ‘She just said she ran away with her friend. She is frightened now and I think she is starting to realise what she has done wrong.
‘She didn’t know about this challenge. We told her about it and I do believe her but there are other girls in her school who are on Facebook.’
Leah’s mother Clare Taylor, 32, was relieved when her daughter was finally reunited with her on Tuesday evening – and hasn’t let her out of her sight since.
Leah (pictured on the phone) had fled the school before she could be picked up by her grandmother Lynn Weatherill (left), who was left her fearing the worst
Ms Taylor now wants to move her daughter to another school closer to the family home, and said Leah ‘hasn’t said much’ since she was safely returned.
She added: ‘She said she stayed out with a friend but it was nothing to do with this dare. She said she didn’t know about it but she could be lying. I don’t know.
‘Nothing like this has ever happened before and I do think it’s because she is getting in with the wrong people. I am just glad she is back. I am quite mad at her but I am more relieved that she is at home.’
Miss Weatherill, who works as a paranormal investigator, said that she saw two sides to Facebook after her granddaughter’s disappearance.
She praised those who took to social media to share pleas for help and post sightings of Leah but criticised how it is being used for the 48-Hour Challenge.
The game invites children to hide from their parents for as long as possible with participants awarded a higher score every time they are mentioned on social media.
Determined to prevent the game from spreading in Hull, Miss Weatherill wants to warn parents about it so they don’t have to go through the terror of a missing child.
Miss Weatherill, pictured with another of her 19 grandchildren, Neesha, has issued a warning about the 48-Hour Challenge, a dangerous new craze encouraging children to go missing
She said: ‘It’s bloody horrible. Facebook needs to put a stop to it and that starts by not letting underage children sign up.
‘Kids see too much at their age online and they shouldn’t be allowed on Facebook until they are 16.
‘It’s frightening. We’ve just gone through it all and I’ve seen it on Facebook – lots of people have been telling me about this challenge.
‘I will battle and battle to try and get kids under the age of 16 off Facebook and I will argue all day about it. I am old fashioned but I am thinking of the kids and I just want to protect them.’
MailOnline has contacted both Marvell College and Facebook for comment today.