A frightened teenager who went missing during a trip to Thailand has reappeared thousands of miles away and is now claiming to be pregnant and facing drug smuggling charges in a former Soviet Union. Bella May Culley, 18, a nursing student from the UK, appeared in court in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, just a week after vanishing while traveling in Southeast Asia.
Culley, who had once flaunted her lavish lifestyle on social media, was reportedly caught with 30 pounds of cannabis at Tbilisi International Airport. The teen claimed she is pregnant during a court appearance. Her attorney said she will be initially detained for two months while investigations continue.
Mysterious Disappearance and Reappearance
Culley was reportedly vacationing with a friend when she disappeared, the Daily Mail reported. Her phone was believed to be switched off, and she was last known to be in the Pattaya region near Bangkok.
However, Cleveland Police has now confirmed that police in Georgia have confirmed the arrest of “an 18-year-old woman from Billingham” on suspicion of drug-related offenses and that she is still in custody, the outlet reported.
Video footage aired by Georgian news outlets appeared to show the teenager being taken away in handcuffs into the Central Criminal Police Department in Tbilisi. She was allegedly caught trying to smuggle 14 kilograms of cannabis into Georgia after being flagged during a scanner inspection at Tbilisi International Airport.
A local news report claimed that during the inspection, officials found “34 vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana” along with “20 packets of hashish” in the passenger’s luggage.
Culley is said to be facing charges for the illegal purchase and possession of a large quantity of narcotics, the illegal acquisition and storage of marijuana, and smuggling the drugs into Georgia.
The country’s Interior Ministry said: “The committed crime envisions up to 20 years – or life imprisonment.”
No Chance of Release
Although Culley requested to be released on bail, the judge ruled that she should remain in custody due to concerns she might flee the country, according to local reports. There are still unanswered questions about how Culley ended up in Georgia and what led to her arrival there.
Her family said that she initially traveled to the Philippines shortly after Easter this year and then flew to Thailand around May 3. She had been regularly posting on social media and last uploaded a photo to Facebook on Monday, May 5.
Worried for her safety, her family had previously made public appeals for help in locating her, with Thai authorities joining the search efforts.
Culley, who recently completed a course at Middlesbrough College and was planning to become a nurse, had been in regular touch with her mother, Lyanne Kennedy, and was expected to speak with her on the Saturday before she vanished.
Her father, Neil Culley, along with his sister Kerrie Culley, traveled to Thailand in hopes of finding answers.
Lyanne previously 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.”
