An extremely disturbed girl who was missing from health board care for more than two weeks was located by gardaí yesterday in Dublin.
The High Court later directed that she be detained in Mountjoy women's prison in the absence of any secure alternative.
Mr Justice Kearns stressed he was ordering the 17-year-old girl's detention in prison because there was nowhere else and because hers was one of the most extreme cases to come before the courts, where there was a clear and present danger to her safety. He also thanked the gardaí for their efforts to find her.
The girl, who has been described as "psychotic", will remain in Mountjoy while psychiatric and medical tests are carried out. The judge will deal with the matter again in a few days when the tests are complete.
Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, for Dublin's Northern Area Health Board, had earlier proposed that the girl be brought to a residential unit but her mother opposed this, saying she believed her daughter would abscond again. The girl had been brought by gardaí to the court but opted to remain outside the courtroom.
The court heard she was found yesterday afternoon on a bus by a garda. Last Friday, Mr Justice Kearns directed that gardaí urgently search for the girl, who has been described as "psychotic".
Lawyers for the girl went to the High Court last July seeking to get the health board to apply for an emergency care order for her. She had been seen in Dublin days earlier looking thin and dirty, with clothes covered in blood and urine. She was described as "extremely high risk" with a history of drug misuse and suspected involvement in prostitution.
She had been in the voluntary care of the board for periods since July 2001. On July 17th last year, gardaí, concerned for her welfare, detained her in a Garda station under the Child Care Act.
On July 19th, on the application of the girl's lawyers, the court directed the gardaí to deliver the girl to the health board. On August 1st, in the absence of any alternative, Mr Justice Kearns directed the girl be detained in Mountjoy Women's Prison where she remained until she was removed to a psychiatric hospital.
Six weeks ago she was placed in a residential unit. She absconded on March 16th.
