Teen Sailor Can Stay With Dad

14-year-old disappeared from the Netherlands

(NEWSER) - Laura Dekker, the Dutch teen sailor who apparently ran away from home, has been found in St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles. Police on the Caribbean island have her in custody, and she is "safe and sound," a Dutch government spokesman tells the BBC . Dekker, 14, wants to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone, but a Dutch court prevented her from leaving and placed her under state supervision. More»

Court had blocked Laura Dekker's attempt at round-the-world sail

(AP) - A teenage Dutch sailor who made headlines when she went to court to fight for the right to sail solo around the world has gone missing, police said today. Laura Dekker's boat, Guppy, is still moored at its usual berth and the 14-year-old appears to have left her father's home on her own, a police spokesman said, adding, "We do not believe this is a crime." More»

Laura Dekker gets greenlight for around-the-world trip

(AP) - The mother of a 14-year-old Dutch girl who wants to sail solo around the world has given up her opposition to her daughter's planned trip. Laura Dekker's dream of becoming the youngest person to sail alone around the globe has been thwarted by a Dutch court that last year made her a ward of the state amid concerns over her physical ability and her social development if she is isolated and out of school for months. More»

Dekker's father may lose custody

(NEWSER) - Runaway teen sailor Laura Dekker has returned home to a custody battle in the Netherlands. Child welfare authorities have asked a court to remove the 14-year-old from her father's custody and place her either with her mother or in foster care, Reuters reports. Dekker was reported missing last week after flying alone to a Caribbean island. More»

(NEWSER) - Dutch authorities have gone to court to demand custody of a 13-year-old girl to block her planned solo sail around the world, reports the BBC. The girl's parents have already been denied permission for her to miss two years of school for the adventure. Laura Dekker, who has sailed since the age of 6, told Dutch TV she has dreamed of such a trip for years. "I want simply to learn about the world and to live freely," she said. More»