The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has widened its search for a missing teenager. The PSNI's officers at Newry, Mourne & Down are trying to locate the whereabouts of a 16-year-old boy who has been reported as missing from his home in Newry.
Patrick Kelly was last seen in a shopping centre in the town around 4pm. In a plea for help published on Facebook on Thursday morning, the police stated: "We are currently trying to locate missing person Patrick Kelly, 16 years old.
"He was last seen in the Buttercrane Shopping Centre in Newry at approximately 4pm yesterday, Wednesday 14th December. Patrick may have travelled to Derry/Londonderry area.
"Patrick was last seen wearing a red Liverpool cap, black jacket with hood, black jogging bottoms and grey trainers. If anyone knows of Patrick's whereabouts, please contact Police on 101, quoting reference number 1318 14/12/22."
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has now shared that appeal on its main Facebook page. The post was shared late on Saturday night.
According to the charity missingpeople.org.uk, somebody is reported missing every 90 seconds in the UK, equating to a total of 170,000 people. Of that number, more than 70,000 are children. The charity also states that 80 per cent of children are found within the first 24 hours of being reported missing and 90 per cent are found within two days, while just two per cent are not found in the first week.
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