A 17-year-old North Vancouver girl who suffers from paranoia has returned to her family home after going missing for at least the seventh time.
A jacketless Milena Nordwall disappeared from her parents' house in the 400-block of East 15th Street on Monday while on a day pass from BC Children's Hospital. Mounties brought in a police dog to search for her overnight, but turned up empty-handed.
Police say she returned home "safe and unharmed" Tuesday afternoon.
Nordwall's repeated disappearances have officers deeply concerned about her safety.
"Officers from our detachment have worked with her in the past and so we are familiar with her. We're worried. Last night temperatures came close to zero, and we've known her to hide in ditches, sheds and wooded areas to avoid being found," RCMP Sgt. Peter DeVries said in a release Tuesday morning.
He warned that Nordwall's mental illness makes her a danger to herself and others.
In December, the teen spent 20 hours outside in the cold after she walked away from Lions Gate Hospital. She was found hiding in a wooded area near the hospital, wearing nothing but a hospital gown.
It was the sixth time she had escaped from care and came just a week after another disappearance that left her with frostbite and other injuries. Her parents have lobbied for her to be outfitted with a security bracelet that would allow police to trace her if she escapes again.
