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Deante James’ mum is overjoyed to have her son back after he went missing for six weeks. Vandana Bhogowoth is now calling for better communication between authorities after several opportunities to find the teenager were missed.

went missing for six weeks, says finding her boy alive is “a miracle”. Vandana Bhogowoth was told by police that 17-year-old Deante James had been discovered safe in hospital after this newspaper ran her story as part of

Overjoyed to know he is OK, she says: “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day. It was probably one of the best days of my life. Oh my God, the emotions –. I’ve never felt happiness like it. It was pure happiness – and relief.”

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The single mum thanked the and Sunday Mirror for running our Missed campaign, which she credits with helping to find him.

Bolted

Vandana, 36 – who prayed to God for help two days before hearing Deante was found on May 17 – says: “The publicity made the police take the case more seriously. I’m really thankful to everyone, also my local MP and the Missing People charity, who pushed the police to take it seriously and get him found. I think highlighting it did push them. Everyone collectively helped – thank you. I’m so grateful.”

Deante went missing from his home in Enfield, North London, in March after smoking what he thought was a normal cannabis joint. He was unaware that it contained the synthetic cannabinoid Spice, which can cause psychosis.

Deante, a normally ambitious boy who loved going to the gym, began hallucinating and hearing voices. His worried family took him to hospital, where doctors had said he had signs of drug-induced psychosis.

He received treatment and was on the mend, but back at home he had another episode and on March 31 bolted out of the back door without his mobile phone or any money. Six weeks passed before he was found. Just as Vandana was losing hope, the police called to say he was safe and in hospital.

Angry

He had been admitted on April 6, but had told staff he was 18, and his parents were not traced. Vandana says: “I felt extremely relieved and everything after that was just a blur. Me and the rest of the family rushed straight to the hospital. If I could have flown there and got there any quicker I would. I just hugged him. It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s really you’.”

Vandana first told her story to the Mirror on May 11, at which point she did not know whether Deante was dead or alive. She had been told her son had been arrested by three days after he went missing for not being able to pay his tube fare, only for them to let him go.

The college teacher now knows that this was because Deante had given his name the wrong way round, and it did not flag him up as missing. She has also learned that police made every effort to obtain historic mobile phone data to identify any associates who might have known where he was and trawled CCTV footage to try to locate him.

But despite Deante giving the BTP officers his correct date of birth and address, police did not contact her. While Vandana searched, his older sister Jaidaima, 19, created a TikTok video of her and her brother to try to help find him. It was viewed more than 73,000 times. While grateful to the police for finding her son and letting her know he was safe, Vandana still feels that a lack of joined-up communication between the essential services meant he fell through the cracks.

She says: “If I’m honest I am still angry. He was a vulnerable young adult. I don’t understand why they just let him go in that condition. They should have shown more of a duty of care. He was a teenager with no money and no phone. Why didn’t they phone his parents?

"It makes me really upset because I think the [police and hospital] could have saved me and my family this ordeal and the devastation of not knowing where he was. I tried to stay as positive as I could, but at the back of my mind I did have dark thoughts, like, ‘What if he’s been kidnapped? What if he’s dead?’”

Hope

Deante’s case highlights the need for a government strategy led by the Home Office, Education and Health Departments for a more joined-up approach between the different agencies so that missing people do not fall through the cracks – which is one of the demands of our Missed campaign.

Every year 170,000 people go missing in the UK and 75,000 of those – almost half – are children under the age of 18. Vandana says: “I believe 100 per cent that Deante could have been found sooner. I reported him missing on March 31 and if he was in hospital most of that time, why didn’t the police know?

“There needs to be a better connection between and police when it comes to missing people. There could be a lot more missing people in hospital – and their families are out there looking for them. This must be happening to others and it needs to change.” Vandana says Deante is “absolutely fine” now.

The relieved mum adds: “He’s recovering and he’s going to get back to his absolute best self, so I’m really happy, positive and extremely grateful to everyone. He’s looking forward to getting his life back on track and following his dreams. As a family we can’t wait to celebrate his 18th birthday now. We’re going to spoil him.”

Vandana is keen to continue supporting our Missed campaign, and is speaking out to help other families. What happened to Deante – a sociable, family-loving teenager, who does not normally take drugs or get into trouble – could happen to anyone, she says. She adds: “If I’m honest I am still angry, because what if it happens again to another family?”

To other families left sick with worry for their missing children, Vandana says: “I’d like to say to other mums in my position, there is hope. Don’t give up. I never gave up on finding my son, but I was struggling to even get out of bed, because I was so depressed. After looking for him for weeks, I’d hit a wall. I never thought I’d experience this and I don’t wish it on my worst enemy. Hopefully I’ll never experience it again.”

She wants to send other parents of missing children a message of love and support, saying: “If your child is missing, stay strong, fight for your rights, speak to your MP and speak to the media. Hopefully, like me, you will get them back. Miracles do happen.”

The police and hospital were contacted for comment.

• The Mirror is using its platform to launch Missed – a campaign to shine a light on underrepresented public-facing missing persons in the UK via a , in collaboration with . Because every missing person, no matter their background or circumstances, is someone’s loved one. And they are always Missed.

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