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Home / New Zealand

Mother of missing special needs 15-year-old desperate for help finding her

Ben Leahy
By Ben Leahy
Reporter·NZ Herald·
15 Oct, 2022 03:23 AM4 mins to read

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15-year-old Emmy Pullen's parents are desperate for public help finding her. Photo / Supplied

15-year-old Emmy Pullen's parents are desperate for public help finding her. Photo / Supplied

An Auckland couple are desperately hoping to find their 15-year-old daughter, who disappeared from their house more than one month ago.

Emmy Pullen walked out of the family's Castor Bay home in the North Shore at about 11pm on August 31.

Her parents have not seen her since and do not know where she is or who she is with.

Neurodiverse Emmy suffered a brain injury when she was younger and is mentally younger than her 15 years of age, mum Jay-Dee Pullen told the Herald.

"She's a very vulnerable young girl," Pullen said.

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Pullen hopes that by appealing through the media, members of the public might spot Emmy and get in touch with information about her whereabouts.

She said Emmy had a bus pass with a little credit on it but no access to a bank account.

"She's got no money, she's got no way of making money," she said.

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"So someone is housing her somewhere."

Emmy appeared to be going by the name of Cash Marley in some social media posts, according to information passed on to Pullen.

However, Pullen did not know what social media accounts Emmy was currently using.

She said Emmy had been reported as being seen in Auckland CBD, Newmarket, Victoria Park and the Te Awamutu/Pirongia area since she went missing a month and a half ago.

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Pullen had also received text messages from Emmy as recently as Thursday.

In some, Emmy said she was sad and in others that she planned to come home. However she didn't come home after sending the messages or reveal where she was.

Friends of the Pullens had also tried reaching Emmy by phone without luck.

Police put out an appeal for help finding her on September 12, saying she was last seen wearing a white sweatshirt with 'XO' written on the front, dark trackpants, black sneakers, and carrying a gold reflective backpack.

She is 168cm tall and weighs about 70 kilograms with brown hair, although Pullen said Emmy had been reported as having died her hair black recently.

Emmy also has a tattoo spelling "Love" on her left hand at the base of her thumb.

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Pullen said Emmy, as part of her condition, had been having troubles and had disappeared overnight before, but never for this long.

The night Emmy disappeared had been a "happy" evening, Pullen said.

She had been at a friend's house for dinner before Pullen picked her up and brought her home.

But that evening the family's cameras showed Emmy sneaking down the stairs and going out the front door, leaving it open.

Her parents noticed too late and by that time Emmy had disappeared.

Pullen said they lived a long way from the bus stop and so it was likely at that time of the night Emmy had been picked up by someone, which made her parents fraught with worry.

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Pullen said Emmy looked older than her 15 years and could come across as being fine to strangers.

She also was typically willing to go away with people she's just met or "follow the crowd".

However, she wasn't properly aware of her surroundings.

"She doesn't understand risk," Pullen said.

Her family are concerned about who she might be with and potentially if she's being supplied with alcohol or other substances.

Pullen said she didn't want to go to the media but had become so worried about her daughter, she thought it might be the only way to raise enough public attention to find her.

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"Where's my girl? Everybody has forgot - that's how I feel," she said.

Anyone who has seen Emmy or has information on her whereabouts can call police.

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