Mounties on Vancouver Island to make public appeal in case of missing 13-year-old girl
CTV
Mounties on Vancouver Island will make a public appeal Thursday in the case of a missing 13-year-old girl who hasn't been seen for two weeks.
Payton MacDonald was reported missing after the Ladysmith RCMP received a request from the Ministry of Child and Family Development to check on her well-being on March 16.
MacDonald had been living on a sailboat with her father in Ladysmith. According to police, the ministry obtained a court order that directed her father to disclose her location.
Police say her father was uncooperative and refused to give her location to the ministry. He was subsequently arrested and held in police custody.
MacDonald was last seen getting into her father's van on the morning of March 16 at the foot of Harbour View Road, near the Ladysmith Marina, according to police.
"To date, police and family have not been able to make contact with Payton," said Staff-Sgt. Wes Olsen on March 18.
"She does not have a phone or have access to social media," he added. "We want to ensure that she is safe and well."
MacDonald is described as a white girl who stands five feet, six inches tall and weighs approximately 130 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Mounties will hold a live news conference in Victoria at 11 a.m. Thursday to provide an update and make an "appeal to the public" in the case.
