Police are appealing for information following reports that a teenage girl walked into the sea in Blackpool.
Officers were called to the town's North Pier just after 4am yesterday after a member of the public reported that the 17-year-old had gone into the water and had not been seen since.
Lancashire Police said extensive searches of the area were made but nothing was found.
The witness said they were speaking with the girl for a short time. They then went away for a few minutes and on their return the girl had gone.
They did not directly see the girl go into the sea but feared that she had, they said.
Police say blood was found on the pier, but it is unclear at this stage whether it is connected.
Officers are appealing for witnesses who may have seen the girl at around 4.20am on Sunday or later.
She is described as having long, dark hair and was wearing dark jeans, a dark grey top and possibly dark trainers.
It is thought she lives in South Shore, possibly with her grandparents.
Chf Insp Eric Halford, of Blackpool Police, said: “I know an incident like this will be of concern to the public, but at this stage we are trying to establish exactly what has happened.
"At present we are investigating a number of possible scenarios and one is that the female has left of her own accord, maybe simply returning home.
“However, we urgently need to find the female described and I would ask anyone who may have seen her, or anybody with dashcam or CCTV footage from the area, to contact police as soon as possible.
"If the female described sees this appeal, I would also ask her to get in touch with us.”
Anyone with information should contact police on 101, quoting log 0309 of August 9, 2020.
