16 hours ago
Dramatic twist in hunt for missing teenage girl who mysteriously vanished a week ago after chilling new images emerged of her last walk
A teenage girl has been found eight days after she vanished in broad daylight in Sydney 's west after her family revealed she would be too shy to ask for help.
Economics student Aanisha Sathik, 18, disappeared from Harrow Road in Auburn after leaving her family home without her phone or any cash about 3.45pm on June 23.
Police believe she was spotted on CCTV footage, apparently wandering aimlessly about 3km away in the neighbouring suburb of Berala between 5.45pm and 6pm.
But there had been no trace of her anywhere until she was found at 2pm in Berala on Tuesday. She has now been rushed to hospital to be assessed.
The breakthrough came after her distraught family begged for help to find the 'very bright' and academically-gifted teenager.
'She is not known to go walking and is very reserved,' her uncle Salman told Daily Mail Australia before she was located.
'She wouldn't have been asking people for food. She's so bright but she had no interests, not many friends.'
Her parents Fatima and Sadiq Sathik had joined police in appealing to locals in nearby homes to check their backyards or garages for any sign of her on Monday.
'We don't know what happened to our daughter,' her father sobbed. 'We just want her home safe.
'Seven days, no money, no food. We are worrying a lot. Please help.
'She doesn't have many friends, she always goes with us.
'Our child knows only school and house, nothing much. We're a bit scared now.'
Aanisha is the eldest of their three children and scored highly in her HSCs last year. She is studying a double degree in economics but was hospitalised a year ago.
She had a lot of friends in Year 11, he added, but had become withdrawn and reserved after her spell in hospital.
Police say she was seen walking south along Harrow Rd before spending about two hours in Norman Park from 3pm.
From there, they believe she walked along Mount Auburn Rd and was later captured on CCTV on Woodburn Rd, near Stone St, about 5.50pm.
Salman said that some homes and businesses had checked CCTV cameras, but they hoped there would be more who may have had footage of Aanisha.
He said it was 'unusual for her to go missing' and that when he left home in the past, to go to uni, she always came back for the night'.
On Tuesday, police confirmed she had been found and was being assessed in hospital.
