Terrifying '48-hour challenge' sees kids go missing for days at a time

Parents have received a stark warning over the '48-hour challenge' - a Facebook game where kids as young as 14 are going missing for days at a time.

This terrifying new game - the latest in a wave of online challenges - invites children to hide from their parents for as long as possible.

As part of the 'challenge', participants are awarded a higher score every time they are mentioned on social media - which basically means, for every frantic status on Facebook or Twitter that family members post, the 'missing' kids get points.

This latest challenge bares striking resemblance to the 'Game of 72' of 2015 which told kids to disappear for 24, 48 or 72 hours.

The Sun reports that a mum from County Derry revealed that her child left the local area and was found 55 hours later in a totally different town.

She said: 'I was terrified they were dead or would be raped, trafficked or even killed. But, these kids just think it's funny.'

As a result of their lengthy disappearance, she said she'd since discovered that her children were in the lead on the game within their social circle.

Sadly, this isn't the first game or 'challenge' to come to light; in recent years, social media has been rife with ill-thought trends and challenges.

The duct tape challenge saw kids taping each other to posts - and one youngster suffered a crushed eye socket when he injured himself trying to break free.

Then there was the salt and ice challenge which saw people holding salt and ice together in a closed fist, with the winner being the one who could do it for the longest.

The extreme cold temperatures that were made as a result caused second and third-degree burns in some cases, leading the NSPCC to issue a on official warning against taking part.