A court in Utrecht has ruled that Laura Dekker, a Dutch 14-year-old who wants to sail solo around the world, will be placed in her father's care.  The case was brought after she ran away to Sint Maarten in the Dutch Antilles.
 
The court decision was postponed because Laura's lawyer, Peter de Lange, challenged the impartiality of the three judges hearing the case. The three were the same judges that made Laura a ward of court in October. The challenge was rejected.
 
Laura, who went missing on Friday, returned to the Netherlands on Tuesday after she was spotted by a member of the public, who reported the sighting to the police. On her return she was questioned by police. She had travelled to St Maarten via Paris on her New Zealand passport, which had been renewed via London. She was reportedly told last Wednesday that she could be put in care after a previous incident in which she ran away. After the hearing, Mr de lange told journalists that Laura had gone to Sint Maarten to buy a boat and start her round-the-world voyage.
 
Plan thwarted
Laura Dekker made the headlines in September, when her plan to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world was revealed. At the time she was 13 years old. Her plans for a two-year voyage around the world on her yacht Guppy, a 8.3 metre Hurley 800 financed by sponsors, was thwarted by the Dutch authorities. Had she been allowed to leave she would have pursued her education by internet and kept in contact with her family by satellite telephone.
 
In October the court ruled that Laura needed to follow a first aid course and to train herself for the strict sleep regime she would have to adhere to as a solo sailor with 20 minutes sleep and 20 minutes awake.
Her lawyer Peter de Lange told journalists that Laura ran away because she had become depressed and was suffering at school because of the huge pressure of her situation and the media exposure.
 
Her father said all his daughter wanted to do was to attempt to sail solo around the world, but she was being held back by welfare authorities, despite passing a psychological test that indicated that she was capable of such a journey. "And then they go and think of other things to hold her back. You can imagine a child becoming upset by that."
 
Mother worried
Laura's mother, Babs Muller, who has lived apart from Laura and her father since Laura was six, was upset when earlier in the day the judges ruled that she would not be awarded custody. Back in September, she said she thought her daughter was technically capable of making a round-the-world trip, but she was worried about her safety in ports and psychological isolation at sea.
 
On Tuesday , the grandparents of the teenager spoke out against the Dutch Child Care Agency.
Rick and Riet Dekker wrote a letter to de Volkskrant daily saying that the callous approach of the agency has turned their granddaughter "from an enterprising and positive teenager into a girl who is hiding behind a shield and has lost confidence in adults".
 
Family Affairs Minister André Rouvoet has said he is glad that Laura Dekker has been found and is back in the Netherlands, but he reserved judgment on what should happen next.