Missing schoolgirl feared taken abroad

LONDON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A 15-year-old British girl whom police fear has traveled overseas with a man she met on the Internet is the subject of an intensive manhunt, officials said.

Authorities say Laura Stainforth vanished from her home in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, last week after telling her parents she was going shopping, the Daily Mail reported Monday. They said the teen was recorded on video surveillance footage at a nearby railway station accompanied by 49-year-old Robert Williams.

Detectives told the British tabloid they believed the pair took a train to Doncaster, Yorkshire, before going on to London, and the next day to Dover, where Laura was allegedly spotted by a member of the public.

Police now fear the girl may be abroad, and have contacted shipping firms and Interpol in an effort to find them.

The Mail said Williams is known to use the alias Dave Ingram and has allegedly befriended dozens of girls using the Facebook social networking site.