Bella May Culley was reported missing by her family after travelling from the Philippines to Thailand and mystery still remains about where she was going before being arrested in Georgia
Mystery remains over the man that Bella May Culley is believed to have met in the Philippines before she was arrested for alleging smuggling drugs into Georgia.
Fresh details are slowly emerging about how the 18-year-old came to be arrested in Georgia after her family reported her missing in Thailand earlier this week and had started a desperate search. She was seen on Georgian television handcuffed and then produced another bombshell that she was pregnant to the surprise of her family. Bella May, from Billingham, County Durham, is accused of carrying about 14kg of cannabis and around 2kg of hashish into the country.
She faces a lengthy spell behind bars if found guilty — which could be life if she receives a severe sentence. She was regularly on social media during a dream holiday which her family said she went on before starting to study nursing. But the reason for where she travelled remains unclear although there has been mention of a mystery male called ‘Ross or Russ’ in the Philippines before she went to meet a group of young men from the northwest of England in Thailand.
Bella’s granddad William Culley, 80, is waiting to hear news about her situation in Georgia and said she had gone to the Philippines to meet someone. “She went to the Philippines to see somebody, a lad there, who she used to go out with a couple of years ago, who was working out there,” he said.
“She said, ‘I’m going on my own, but I’m meeting Ross out there. Or Russ, I’m not sure what his name is. He was working out there for his father’s company or something. But now I wonder if what she told me was true.”
There are currently no further details about this man available, deepening the mystery over what happened for the teen who was reported missing to turn up in jail thousands of miles away. On his family’s wait to see Bella in Georgia, her grandad continued: “Last night they were told they could see her in the morning. They said they’d ring me straight after they had seen her but I haven’t had a call. They must still be waiting.
“It’s just really important that they get to see her as soon as possible. The poor bairn must be at her wits’ end. Especially if we can’t see her. Everything should be done to make that happen.”
Bella May’s dad Niel said he was “surprised” to find out his daughter was pregnant and found out last night. He and and her aunt Kerrie are now in Georgia and held a meeting with a lawyer at an office in Tbilisi today to discuss the alleged drug offences.
“I only found out when my daughter told me last night,” he said about his daughter being pregnant. Bella’s father Niel lives in Vietnam but retains a property in Billingham, Co Durham.
While on holiday Bella posted an image of herself on TikTok holding huge stacks of cash, showing off a pile of £10 and £20 notes held together by a hairband. It was among a host of photos of herself enjoying herself abroad.
In another clip, Culley declared she’s up for almost anything but put her foot down when it comes to smoking or dabbling in drugs. She stated: “I will literally be up for anything. But if you ask me to smoke a fag or a vape or do any drug I will look at you like you are s*** on my shoe.”
She also made references to notorious American outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. “Blonde or brunette? Erm how about we get up to criminal activities side by side like Bonnie n Clyde making heavy figures and f****** on balconies over the world,” she wrote in one video on April 1.