Brit teen Bella May Culley missing in Thailand found 4000 miles away

Bella May Culley was last seen in the Pattaya area on Saturday, with her family flying to the country to look for her. They have also contacted Cleveland Police, describing her disappearance as "extremely out of character"

A British teenager who went missing while on holiday in Thailand, sparking an international manhunt, has been found 4000 miles away in a Georgian jail.

18-year-old Bella May Culley was last spotted in the Pattaya region on Saturday, but there had been little information found about her since. Family members even jetted off to Thailand to join the search for Bella, with her mum voicing their collective desperation to hear she's safe.

The 18-year-old took a flight to the Philippines just after Easter and had been island-hopping with a mate. It's thought she jetted off to Thailand around May 3. She had been keeping mum Lyanne Kennedy updated regularly, but failed to call her on Saturday, May 11.

However, a jaw-dropping twist in Bella's case surfaced on Tuesday night, when police revealed that the teen had been located - a staggering 4000 miles away in Georgia, which shares a border with Russia.

Cleveland Police disclosed after a four-day global hunt for Bella that "an 18-year-old woman from Billingham has been arrested there on suspicion of drugs offences and that she remains in their custody."

Georgian officials claim that Bella May Culley was nabbed with 14 kilos of cannabis after her luggage raised red flags on an airport scanner as she entered the country.

Pictures from the former Soviet nation depict the teenager in handcuffs as she was taken into custody at a police station in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital.

Local media reports suggest that the British teen was found with " 34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana were found in the passenger's bag, as well as 20 packages of hashish."

Culley has been slapped with charges for the illegal purchase and storage of a large quantity of drugs, including cannabis, and for smuggling them into Georgia, according to the Mail. The youngster could face up to 20 years or even life behind bars if convicted of these offences.

Georgian press has reported that Culley has been refused bail, with the judge ruling that she posed a flight risk ahead of her trial.

Bella's dad Neil Culley jetted out from the family home in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, to Thailand along with his sister Kerrie Culley to aid police in their search earlier on Tuesday.

A distressed Lyanne told Teesside Live: "She flew out to the Philippines after Easter with a friend and she was there for three weeks. She was posting loads of pictures and then she went to Thailand on about May 3.

"The last message she sent was to me and that was on Saturday at 5.30pm saying she was going to Facetime me later. That was the last message anyone has received from what we can figure out up to now.

"I'm just waiting on her dad who is now in Bangkok to get back with any more information. I just want her home and safe or to hear her gorgeous little voice."

The family has confirmed that Thai police are treating Bella's case as a "high priority". They've also reached out to Cleveland Police, urging anyone with information about Bella's whereabouts to come forward.

In a desperate plea on Facebook prior to Bella being found in Georgia, the family posted: "Information on Bella May is now urgently needed on the last known communication with Bella May. The police are now involved over here and in Thailand. "Anything could help even if you think it isn't relevant, it could be. ".