The mother of a 12-year-old girl who ran away earlier this month said she has been through a parent?s worst nightmare trying to locate her missing daughter.

Dawn Brown, the mother of Charhan Burns, who was reported missing recently, told she went through an emotional ?roller coaster? for a week searching for her daughter, only to discover an adult at a residence where she was staying did not inform herself or the Police that Charhan was at their home.

She is calling on Police to clean up their act and to deliver runaway children to the appropriate place when they have been found.

Ms Brown is also making an appeal to parents and children who harbour runaway children to report their presence in their home to Police immediately.

While she admits that her daughter is rebellious and had run away from home on a previous occasions, Ms Brown said Police inefficiency and a refusal by other parents to abide by the law make it easy for children to run away from home.

Since Charhan was reported missing a week ago from the Sunshine League, where she is currently living, Ms Brown said she had been searching for her daughter with a group of relatives.

When she was located at her friend?s home, she said Police refused to pick her up and did not arrive to collect her. Instead, relatives had to take her to stay with them that night.

?My great uncle called the Police and said they knew where she was staying and to pick her up immediately, but they refused to pick her up,? she said. ?They said they didn?t have anyone to pick her up at that time.?

Ms Brown said such a move by Police demonstrates a lack of concern about her daughter?s welfare.

?I feel that this woman should be prosecuted, she is not an ally to Police. They?re treating her as an ally, but this is my daughter who went missing, she violated my rights as a mother but not acting like a responsible adult. Police must make the law clear ? either it?s an offence to harbour runaways or it?s not.?

Det. Con. Frankie Foggo of the Juvenile Domestic Crime Unit, who was in charge of Charhan?s case, told that when Police receive word that runaway children are in safe hands they will advise an adult to take them to the Police Station to make a report.

?If they?re at a home where they?re safe then we advise parents to take them to the appropriate place as soon as possible. In this case, we don?t know why the Police did not go quickly to pick her up, but eventually, she was picked up,? he said.

Det. Con. Foggo said the Police are making inquiries into cases when adults have harboured runaway children.

?We remind the public that it is an offence for anyone to harbour a missing child,? he said.

Director of the Sunshine League, Karen Hodgson, told children at the home rarely run away. She said the home deals with one runaway child a year.

?I think it would be unfair to comment on this case specifically, it would be unfair to the family,? she said.