Father’s Facebook appeal prompts investigation into teen girl’s death

A father's emotional appeal on Facebook for more information about his 16 year old daughter's death - an apparent suicide - prompted the police to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

On Friday night 16 year old Dascha Graafsma visited the Hilversum club Lets Get Down on Emmastraat with two friends, according to her father Rene Graafsma on Facebook. Around 2:00 a.m. on Friday she left her friends to go to the bathroom, and never returned.

Her friends became concerned and called her parents and the police. Around 5:45 a.m., more than three hours later, Dascha was hit by a train near Station Hivelrsum Sportpark.

Dascha's family cannot believe that the teen girl committed suicide and her father placed an urgent call for more information, especially about what the girl did and where she went in the almost four hours she was missing, on Facebook. So far the call was shared more than 145 thousand times.

"As a father, I ask you to give these events all possible media attention. With the question of whether anyone saw her, talked, spent time with her, or anything else. Too much does not make sense." Rene Graafsma wrote. "There are no words to support his request, but it also seems unnecessary. The sooner the questions and message gets out there, the sooner people with information can be found."

On Monday a spokesperson for the police confirmed that they are further investigating the 16 year old's death, though they still believe it was suicide. "But the family has lots of questions. We would like to be able to answer those questions", the spokesperson said to the Telegraaf. The police are looking into, among other things, if Dascha was caught on surveillance cameras during the last night of her life.