Missing ex-supermodel found
2008-03-08 07:56
Brussels - Former supermodel Waris
Dirie, whose apparent disappearance for two days raised fears
for her safety, was found on Friday and authorities said she had
simply got lost after leaving a disco in the early hours.
"I am sure you are glad to see me as I am pleased to see
you. I am OK. There was just a little misunderstanding. I don't
want to go through the details," Dirie, a women's rights
campaigner from Somalia, told reporters at a police station.
She was found by a policewoman at Brussels' Grande Place,
the old town's main square.
She had last been seen getting into
a taxi in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Big city
"This lady, it may be only the first or second time she was
in Brussels. And it's true, even I who am from Brussels can get
lost in Brussels," said Roland van Reusel, Brussels police
superintendent.
"So a policewoman gave her some directions ... I think she
got lost in this big city which is the capital of Europe," he
added. Brussels is the headquarters of the European Union.
The internationally renowned beauty, whose face has graced
countless magazines, turned her back on a lucrative career to
campaign against the centuries-old practice of female genital
mutilation, which she herself had undergone.
The ex-model had disappeared between 03:00 and 04:00 on
Wednesday after getting into a taxi, police said.
Jean-Marc Meilleur, spokesperson for the public prosecutor's
office, said Dirie had got lost after leaving a disco.