Missing Leah Croucher was reportedly spotted with a “controlling” man at the airport weeks after the teenager vanished three years ago, a new witnesses has claimed.
The Sun reported that the teen asked the man in question where they were going.
He repeatedly warned her not to tell anyone she was travelling with him, the new witness alleged.
Leah Croucher was last seen on CCTV footage back in February 2019, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
The witness, a 37-year-old businesswoman, claimed she saw a girl who looked like Leah at Luton Airport.
She said she spotted the girl at passport control and that she told officials her name was Leah, but it is still unknown if it was definitely her.
The family have previously spoken out against "upsetting" and "hurtful" claims made about the then 19-year-old's disappearance, especially some made on social media.
She said: "My first thought was ‘what a lovely young girl’ and my second was that the man she was with was being very controlling.
"The girl was asking him questions about what they would do when they arrived and where they would stay.
"She seemed worried. The man kept telling her: ’You’ll find out that when you get there.’ His tone was not nice.”
The businesswoman added it “didn’t make sense” to her, and as a mum she couldn’t help worrying about the young girl.
She lived in Holland at the time and was unaware of Leah Croucher’s case until six months later when she moved to the UK.
It was only then she saw giant missing persons banners that Leah’s family had put out on bridges.
She insisted that it was Leah at the airport, describing her “auburn colour” hair, that was long thick and wavy.
She added: "She had light make-up on and was dressed in black and a chestnut colour. She was wearing a skirt that came just above her knee and calf-length boots with block heels.
"I am 5ft 2in tall and I would put her at about my height.”
The man was described as Asian, with black hair gelled back and a trimmed beard in his late 20s or early 30s but she could not remember where they were travelling to.
Back in January, Thames Valley Police's DCI Andy Howard said: "There is no evidence to suggests that she has left the UK."
Since she went missing there have been a number of reports of the missing girl.
Last year an old photo showed a figure in black on a mobile phone, and it was hoped to provide clues as to her disappearance.
This came after a satellite photo on Google Earth was claimed by some to show a girl resembling the teen.
Officers also investigated reports of a woman crying at a lake in November.
Police appealed for anyone who knew anything about the disappearance to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, adding that there was a £20,000 reward for information.
