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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Thomas Kingsley

Owami Davies: ‘Come back to us,’ mother pleads as new CCTV images show missing student in Croydon

Handout

The mother of a student nurse missing from her home for over a month has appealed for information on the 24-year-old’s whereabouts as police released new CCTV images of the night she was last seen.

Owami Davies, 24, left her home in Grays, Essex, and was last seen just after midnight on Derby Road in West Croydon on 7 July.

Her mother Nicol Davies on Wednesday appealed for anyone with information to come forward and she said “everyday we hope to hear the news Owami is coming back to us.”

“There are many friends and family who love and care for Owami and all of them want to see her safe return,” Ms Davies said. “Owami - if you see this appeal please believe you are not in any trouble, we just want you to come back to us. Please leave a message if you can to let us know you are okay, we are so very worried about you.

“This is such a terrible time for all those who love Owami and I am pleading for anyone who can help find her to contact police.”

New CCTV images released today show Owami on the night she was last seen in a shop and CCTV of her walking in Derby Road.

Officers are also keen to speak to the driver of a van that was parked in Derby Road and which may have seen her as she crossed the road with a man.

Three men have been arrested in Croydon on suspicion of murder in connection with her disappearance.

Officers arrested a 32-year-old man on Tuesday and on Monday two other men, aged 27 and 23, were detained. All three were taken to a south London police station where they remain in custody.

Police have cordoned off a property on Derby Road, West Croydon, as part of their investigation into missing student nurse Owami Davies.

Officers are at the scene where two gazebo tents have been erected to the side of the house and the window in the front door has been smashed.

Omolade, 28, a student who lives next door and did not wish to give his last name, said the police turned up at the house at around 3am on Sunday. Speaking to thePA news agency on Wednesday, he said: “They said they wanted to see, for the residents to come out.

“I was hearing the voices from outside.

“I saw the police on Monday morning and I asked them and they said somebody got arrested because there’s a case of somebody going missing.”

Omolade said he did not see who smashed the window in the front door but he first saw it was only broken on Monday morning after the police had arrived.

Officers want to speak to the owner of a white van which may have spotted Owami (Metropolitan Police)

Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney, said: “We are working hard to find Owami but we really do need the public’s help. Owami is very vulnerable and the longer she is missing the more we worry that she has come to harm.

“As a result of extensive CCTV enquiries we have a clearer idea of Owami’s movements, but we still need the public to contact us and tell us what they know. We would obviously like to speak to the driver of the white van that passed Owami in Derby Road, but anyone with information should call. You can call and speak to officers, or if you prefer you can contact Crimestoppers who will never ask your name, trace your call or IP address.

“They are 100 per cent anonymous and you can call them in complete confidence. Owami’s family are living through a nightmare and are desperate for news. I would ask anyone who thinks they can help to come forward - as the days pass the anxiety of Owami’s family will only get worse and your call could be the one they are praying for.”

Officers have asked anyone with information about Owami’s whereabouts to call police on 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting reference 22MIS025307.

Alternatively, contact the Missing People charity in confidence on 116 000.

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