A MASSIVE police manhunt searched for an 18-year-old girl who told her parents she would jump off a river bridge.
It is understood a row over the teen's boyfriend saw her flee her home in Hempsted and threaten to leap into the fast-moving River Severn below Westgate Bridge.
Police officers and family and friends of the girl frantically searched for her from 4.45pm on Tuesday.
The police helicopter was mobilised while others scoured through bushes at Hempsted before the search moved to bridges along the Gloucester to Sharpness Canal.
Several properties and Sainsbury's at St Ann Way were also searched by officers who had 'serious' fears that the teen would harm herself.
Inspector Andy Kilmurray said: "Given the reports we had received, there was a serious and immediate concern for the safety of this lady and that's why we launched a wide-scale search using as many police resources as required."
The four-hour major search operation was sparked by a desperate 999 call from the teen's worried parents.
A nearby boater, who had been moored up by the swing bridge at Hempsted, said: "Officers were running down the towpath at lightning speed and the helicopter was buzzing overhead.
"It had all been quiet on the canal and then all of a sudden it was frantic. I've never seen anything quite like it here before."
But around 9pm the missing teen phoned police to say that she was safe.
Insp Kilmurray added: "As the evening progressed the likelihood of the woman harming herself was deemed to have reduced but we carried on making address checks and other inquiries to locate her and reassure her family.
"Thankfully by the end of the evening she had been in contact with our officers and we were satisfied she was safe and well."
