Lost teen spent night in vacant Winnipeg house
Recent immigrant found after being reported missing on her first day at new school
WINNIPEG— A recently immigrated teen who didn’t make it home from her first day of school in Winnipeg says she became lost and spent the night in a vacant house.
Bethlehem Zeleke Eliso says she decided to walk home during her lunch hour on Monday, but ended up wandering the streets for hours.
Eliso, who is 17, said she was looking for anything familiar that could lead her back to school.
Her family reported her missing in the afternoon and police asked the public to check garages and sheds for the girl.
The concern was that the teen from Ethiopia wouldn’t be able to cope with temperatures that were dipping into the -30s with the wind chill.
Eliso’s father has been living in Winnipeg for the last several years, and was joined by the rest of his family just before Christmas.
“In my mind, I knew my house. Where is my house? And so I think, ‘I can go back,’ ” Eliso told CTV Winnipeg in broken English.
She said she found the empty, unlocked house and spent the night sleeping on the floor.
Police meanwhile found a clue in surveillance footage from a lock service business just a few blocks from the school. It showed Eliso, bundled up against the cold and appearing confused, wandering past the store.
Trevor Dawson, who manages the lock service, said he allowed police to set up a search base in his store because he was worried for the teen.
“My wife was in tears as soon as she heard about it. We personally do not even know the people in any way,” said Dawson.
A man found Eliso in the house on Tuesday and told her to leave. He suggested she call 911 when she told him she was lost.
But she didn’t have a cellphone, so Eliso continued to wander the Elmwood neighbourhood. She finally went into a business and asked for help.
“I tell her, ‘I lost my home. I lost my house.’ And she says, ‘I can help you.’ ” The woman phoned Elmwood High School and Eliso was reunited with her family Tuesday night.