Girl, 17, missing in Thailand after taking taxi from Bangkok to Pattaya

A 17-year-old girl has been missing in Thailand for one week after she got into a taxi that was supposed to take her from Bangkok to Pattaya.

Naphatsorn “Namtan” Plerphukiao is believed to have gone missing in the central province of Chachoengsao.

The girl's family has since taken to social media to appeal for information on her whereabouts.

The girl's father, Boonlert Plerphukiao, said his daughter was living in Pathum Thani, a neighbouring province north of Bangkok, for an internship.

Boonlert is from Udon Thani province in the Isaan region, which is about 600km northeast of Bangkok.

He travelled to Bangkok to seek assistance from Channel 7 media outlet on May 7.

What happened

Namtan left her dormitory in the Rangsit area of Pathum Thani province at around 12am on May 1.

Surveillance footage from her dormitory that morning showed her entering an orange taxi that she booked through a mobile application.

It was not known why she booked the ride, but she was reportedly travelling to the Rama 3 area of Bangkok.

She only brought along a mobile phone and did not take her identification card, student card, and other valuables.

Driver cancelled ride halfway through

Boonlert said he repeatedly attempted to call his daughter, but she did not answer.

He then contacted the ride-hailing app company for more information.

It was revealed to him that Namtan had booked another trip from Rama 3 to Pattaya Walking Street, but the driver cancelled the ride halfway through.

The girl is believed to have gone missing in Chachoengsao province, which is east of Bangkok and north of Pattaya.

The family filed a missing person report in Pathum Thani, where the girl was at before her disappearance.

Her father urged anyone with information regarding his daughter's whereabouts to contact the girl's older sister on Facebook

Top photo via Papasson Som