Police in Great Britain are now using social media and are offering a reward for information about a 17-year-old girl from Latvia who has been missing for three months.

Alisa Dmitrijeva has not been seen since shortly after midnight Aug. 31 in King’s Lynn, which is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of London. Dmitrijeva, who was born in Latvia, was reported missing by a relative on Sept. 6, according to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

Police have created a Facebook advertisement targeting people living in Wisbech, Norfolk and Lincolnshire that will take visitors to a page with details on Dmitrijeva and the GBP 5,000 reward being offered for information that leads officers to finding her. The advertisement is in English, Latvian and Lithuanian.

“We know Alisa used social media so this advert will target people who may have information about her whereabouts,” Detective Chief Inspector Melanie Dales said in a Dec. 5 press release. “By translating the advert we hope to reach members of the community who know Alisa but may not have seen the appeals in traditional media.”

Police say they are becoming increasingly concerned for Dmitrijeva’s safety.

Dmitrijeva is described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall (1.67 meters), with collar length dark brown hair with blonde highlights. However, her hair may now be darker with a fringe.

Persons with information about Dmitrijeva’s whereabouts may telephone Cambridgeshire police at +44 0345 456 456 4 or, anonymously in the United Kingdom, through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Proponents of making Russian the second state language in Latvia have apparently succeeded in getting enough signatures to bring proposed constitutional amendments before the Saeima and to force a national referendum, according to provisional results compiled by the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

A total of 183,046 eligible voters—almost 30,000 more than required—added their signatures to the citizen initiative during November, according to the election commission. Of those, 1,050 did so abroad at Latvian embassies and consulates.

That means legislation proposing changes to five paragraphs in Latvia’s constitution will be submitted in a few weeks. If media reports and political observers are correct, the Saeima is more than likely to reject the legislation, which would then lead to a national referendum on the language issue sometime in early 2012.

However, even if the Saeima approves the amendments, a national referendum is inescapable. One of the amendments would change Paragraph 4, which according to the constitution may only be changed through a referendum. Paragraph 4 stipulates that Latvian is the state language and that the national flag is red with a white stripe.

A pro-Russian group, “Dzimtā valoda,” gathered signatures earlier this year and in September submitted a petition with 12,533 names supporting the initiative. At least 10,000 were needed to trigger the month-long signature campaign.

According to Latvian law, at least 10 percent of eligible voters in the last parliamentary election—a total of 154,379—had to support the initiative to bring the legislation to the Saeima.

The Central Election Commission must now review the signatures, a process that could take three to four weeks, according to spokesperson Kristīne Bērziņa.

More than LVL 70 million already has been paid out to Latvijas Krājbanka clients after the financial institution’s collapse, but account holders abroad may have a tougher time getting to their money.

The bank, Latvia’s 10th largest in terms of deposits, was shut down by regulators after its parent company—Lithuania’s Bankas Snoras, that country’s third largest bank—collapsed amid allegations its owners siphoned off an estimated USD 1.3 billion in assets.

Lithuania’s government refused to bail out the bank. Latvian authorities followed up by taking over Krājbanka on Nov. 21, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (Finanšu un kapitālu tirgus komisija, or FKTK) announced.

Under Latvian banking law, deposits are insured up to EUR 100,000 (about LVL 70,000) from the Deposit Guarantee Fund, regardless of whether the account holder is a resident or a non-resident of the country. Reimbursements began to be paid out on Nov. 29.

Latvijas Krājbanka’s customers abroad can designate someone in Latvia to collect the insured value of their account by preparing a notarized proxy, an FKTK spokeswoman told Latvians Online in an email. The commission recommends that customers contact the nearest Latvian embassy or consulate for assistance on preparing the proxy.

Clients abroad who have used a Latvijas Krājbanka credit or debit card (norēķinu karte) to pay bills may have to ask friends, relatives or acquaintances in Latvia to help them get their money using a money transfer service like MoneyGram or Western Union, the spokesperson suggested.

Otherwise, customers from abroad can apply for the funds when in Latvia. The insured amount will be available for 60 years—until 2071, according to the FKTK.

An estimated 235,000 customers of Latvijas Krājbanka will receive the guaranteed payments.

Ironically, the payouts from Latvijas Krājbanka are being made through Citadele Bank. Citadele was formed in 2010 after the Latvian government took over the failed Parex Bank and transferred that bank’s good assets to the new financial institution.

After the collapse of Bankas Snoras and the seizure of Latvijas Krājbanka, Lithuanian authorities issued arrest warrants for Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov and his Lithuanian partner Raimondas Baranauskas, who were the major shareholders in Snoras. Both were arrested Nov. 24 in London and then released on bail.

Latvijas Krājbanka was founded in 1924. Bankas Snoras in 2005 bought majority interest in Krājbanka.

According to its 2010 annual report, Latvijas Krājbanka held more than LVL 575 million in deposits from customers, almost 60 percent of them private citizens. About 17 percent of the total deposits were from non-residents of Latvia.

Further information about account reimbursements is available by calling the Citadele Bank client contact center at +371 6 7010000.

Complaints about the reimbursement amount or questions about recognizing a person as a Latvijas Krājbanka depositer may be directed to the FKTK by telephone at +371 67774800 or +371 67774801, by email to fktk@fktk.lv, or by mail to Finanšu un kapitālu tirgus komisija, Kungu iela 1, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia.