The Edinburgh teen girl found onboard Africa-bound ship 12 days after vanishing, states an Edinburgh Live news source.
The 15-year-old sent her family into a frenzy
The 15-year-old sent her family into a frenzy after she failed to return from the cinema one night. Nearly two weeks later, she was discovered by the crew onboard a Panamanian cargo steamer
Every parent knows the stress of letting their kids out on their own for the first time, especially when they don’t return in time for their tea.
Typically most will be blissfully unaware of the time as they’re having too much fun, but others exploit the trust placed in them by parents and bend the rules slightly.
In 1957, one Edinburgh girl bent the rules to breaking point. 15-year-old Isobel Scott was off on a jaunt to the cinema one evening in January and failed to come home that night.
After various appeals were launched to trace Isobel, nearly two weeks later it seemed like she had vanished forever.
That was until she was discovered hiding on a cargo ship bound for Casablanca in western Morocco.
Found onboard the 3,000 ton Panamanian cargo steamer
A whole 12 days after going off on her own to watch a movie, Isobel, from Earl Haig Gardens just off Ferry Road, was found onboard the 3,000 ton Panamanian cargo steamer by the ship’s crew who found her hiding in their quarters.
Isobel, instead of going to the cinema on January 6, went to Leith Docks and boarded the ship. A London newspaper extract from 1957 tells how Isobel shared a cigarette and a joke with the crew as she was transported to Dover where here father had travelled to.
After she was found, the captain of the ship radioed Dover Police and a rendezvous was set up. A small pilot cutter had transported Isobel to dry land as she reportedly refused to disclose the reason behind her great escape.
At the time, Isobel’s dad and ex-service man Mr Frank Scott said: “All I want is to get Isobel back home. It was a silly thing of her to do.”
The local authorities said no criminal charges would be brought against the teenager.
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Source: Edinburgh Live
