THE search for a missing eight-year-old girl taken from the care of her mother by her father, from Southampton, will focus on Cairo.

A court yesterday heard that Elsa Salama is believed to be in the Egyptian capital with relatives of her father, Tamer Salama.

Mr Salama, who trained as a teacher in Southampton, took Elsa from the care of her mother, Naomi Button, when they were visiting the country in 2011.

He was jailed for refusing to reveal where she was in January 2012, when Ms Button took legal action against him, and he was released in December 2013.

Mrs Justice Hogg, at a private hearing of the Family Division of the High Court in London, said she hoped that Mr Salama – who says he does not know where Elsa is – would return to England with the little girl.