Owami Davies: How police investigations to find missing nurse unfolded
The 24-year-old had been missing for nearly eight weeks after disappearing
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Missing student nurse Owami Davies has been found, nearly eight weeks after she vanished.
Since her disappearance on July 4, detectives transferred the investigation from Essex Police to Scotland Yard, arrested five people, and issued multiple appeals for information.
Questions have been raised about the investigation, after it emerged police issued a picture of the wrong woman.
On Tuesday, her family finally had the good news they were hoping for, after a member of the public contacted police following a media appeal.
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Here is a timeline of how the investigation unfolded:
– July 4: Ms Davies leaves her family home in Grays, Essex, telling her mother she is going to the gym.
– July 6: Her family officially report her as missing to Essex Police.
Separately, the Metropolitan Police are called to an address on Clarendon Road, Croydon, to concerns over the welfare of a woman.
Officers attend, call the London Ambulance Service and speak to the woman.
She tells them she does not want help and leaves the address before the ambulance service can attend.
Ms Davies had not been marked as a missing person on the police database at this time and the Met only later establish that the woman was the 24-year-old as a result of their missing person investigation.
– July 7: Ms Davies is last seen just after midnight on Derby Road, West Croydon, in south London.
– July 11: Essex Police make an investigative decision to issue a proactive media appeal.
– July 16: The force releases a second appeal which it then shares on Facebook three days later.
– July 23: The investigation is officially transferred from Essex Police to the Metropolitan Police after it becomes clear a significant number of inquiries to locate Ms Davies have been in London.
– July 31: The Met Police issue their first appeal for information on her whereabouts – now three weeks after she went missing.
– August 1: The force arrests two men, aged 23 and 27, in the Croydon area on suspicion of murder in relation to the investigation.
– August 2: A third man, 32, is arrested on suspicion of murder at an address in South Croydon.
– August 3: Ms Davies’ mother Nicol Davies appeals to the public, saying: “I am begging, I am asking for the public’s help, from the people, to say if you know, if you have heard or seen her, or she passed you, please speak up.”
Speaking at New Scotland Yard, she said her daughter was “really happy”, had about two months left of her studies and recently secured a job with Guy’s and St Thomas’.
On the same day, a 22-year-old man is arrested at an address in Croydon on suspicion of murder.
– August 5: The Independent Office for Police Conduct receives a referral from the Metropolitan Police Service in relation to the contact officers had with Owami Davies in Croydon on July 6.
– August 6: Police make a fifth arrest as they detain a 27-year-old man on suspicion of kidnap.
– August 9: The Met Police issue an update on the investigation, saying that officers have searched houses and parks, viewed hundreds of hours of CCTV and conducted extensive door-to-door inquiries.
The force also reveals that the five men arrested during the course of the investigation have been released on bail.
– August 16: Scotland Yard issue a fresh appeal saying Ms Davies could be “in the local area and in need of help”.
– August 18: British Transport Police (BTP) tweet that the 24-year-old could still regularly be taking trains, may appear dazed or confused and may be seeking to engage with women travelling alone.
The Metropolitan Police say in a statement: “Owami has been depressed and in the absence of her medication may use alcohol to relieve her depression.”
– August 20: The Met Police confirm to the media that their officers came into contact with Ms Davies at the address in Clarendon Road, Croydon, on July 6.
The IOPC also confirms it has received a referral over the matter, is assessing the material and is considering whether further action is required.
- August 22: Detectives say Ms Davies could be sleeping rough, with no money on her Oyster card and no access to her phone or bank cards.
- August 23: Met police confirms Ms Davies has been found “safe and well” in Hampshire almost eight weeks after she went missing. Police said a member of the public responded to a media appeal, and they were able to locate her on Tuesday.
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