Missing: Alice Gross UK (age 14)

[Carana]

See here, if anyone can help. She disappeared in the London area Thurs 28 August:

http://news.sky.com/story/1341720/alice ... g-her-home


From above:



By Enda Brady, Sky News Correspondent

The family of missing schoolgirl Alice Gross have said "every morning brings new agony" as they made a heartfelt plea for her to return home.

The appeal came as police stage a reconstruction of her final movements, four weeks after she disappeared.

Alice, 14, was seen on CCTV on August 28 walking alongside the Grand Union Canal in west London back towards her home in Hanwell and has not been seen since.

A statement from Alice's family, released through Scotland Yard, said: "Alice has been missing for four weeks now. We are desperately concerned about her welfare and worry constantly about what may have happened to her.
Alice Gross search Alice was last seen four weeks ago

"We are appealing to Alice. If you are out there, to come home where you belong. We love you and we miss you. We want to see your smile again, we want to hear you sing again, to see you cuddle Peggy, or sit at the piano. We want to be a family again.

"The whole family, all your friends, the community and the police are united in trying to bring you home.

"We are also appealing to anyone out there who knows anything about Alice's disappearance or where she is to come forward now.

"We cannot believe that Alice is not at home with us and every morning brings new agony. We dearly love our daughter and Nina dearly loves her sister.

"Please, please help us."
Search for Alice Gross Some 600 officers from eight forces are involved in the search

Murder detectives investigating the disappearance have followed up 729 lines of inquiry and received more than 1,000 calls from the public in response to appeals, but have not yet been able to establish what happened after 4.26pm that day.

They have searched 30 properties, 25 square kilometres of open land and 5.5km of canals and rivers.

Around 600 officers from eight forces are involved in the investigation, making it the biggest search undertaken by the Metropolitan Police since the 7/7 transport bomb attacks in London in 2005.

Prime suspect, 41-year-old builder Arnis Zalkalns - a convicted murderer who served seven years in a Latvian jail for killing his wife - was spotted on CCTV cycling along the same path as Alice on the day she vanished.
Police Search For Missing Teenager Alice Gross It is the biggest search undertaken since the 7/7 attacks of 2005

He has not been seen since September 3 and has not accessed his bank account or used his mobile phone.

Officers have been sent to his native Latvia in an effort to trace him.

Scotland Yard hope the reconstruction of Alice's last known movements, which began with her leaving her home at 1pm before walking along Brentford Lock, will help jog people's memory of the afternoon of August 28.

Scotland Yard commander Graham McNulty has admitted his officers would have no power to arrest Zalkalns if he is found in his native Latvia or elsewhere.

He said the force would need to be "charge ready" to apply for a European Arrest Warrant, and has not done so because this would stop officers being able to interview the suspect.

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for anyone who has information that leads detectives to find Alice.

[Carana]

The police suspect this person (although it may simply be to question and eliminate him):

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/cr ... 54075.html

[Alibongo]

She's been on all news bulletins for weeks now and major searches have been carried out. Very worrying that no signs of her have been found apart from her rucksack it doesn't bode well imo.

[catkins]

It is very worrying...........her poor family must be in bits...

[Carana]

The complications of European judicial cooperation...


Alice Gross: not enough evidence for Latvian police to arrest suspect
Evidence against Latvian national Arnis Zalkalns falls short of threshold for European arrest warrant, Scotland Yard admits

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Vikram Dodd
theguardian.com, Wednesday 24 September 2014 19.06 BST

Alice Gross Alice Gross investigation: trees in west London are adorned with ribbons to remind passersby of the missing schoolgirl. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Rex

The convicted murderer named by Scotland Yard as their prime suspect in the disappearance of teenager Alice Gross cannot be arrested if he has fled abroad, police have said.

Arnis Zalkalns would be a free man because officers do not have enough evidence to charge him, meaning they fall short of the threshold for a European arrest warrant.

Amid criticism over the investigation, Scotland Yard tried to explain why they had not applied for a European arrest warrant, which would mean Zalkalns could be arrested in his native Latvia, if he had indeed fled to the country, where he has family and children.

Alice, 14, who went missing nearly a month ago in west London. The Metropolitan polce have named Zalkalns as a suspect and revealed he had a conviction for murdering his wife in Latvia. He was last seen on 3 September, a week after Alice disappeared. Detectives believe he came across the teenager shortly before the last known sighting of her.

On Wednesday the Met commander, Graham McNulty, said that unless police were ready to charge a suspect, they could not seek a European arrest warrant. This means that even if Zalkalns walked into a police station in Latvia, officers could not arrest him in connection with Alice’s disappearance because he is not wanted for any offence in that jurisdiction.

McNulty said: “We are not at the point of charge, which means we can not effect a European arrest warrant, which means we would not be able to arrest somebody abroad at this point in time.”

Also hampering any application for a European arrest warrant is the fact police cannot be sure any crime has actually been committed. McNulty said: “There is no evidence that Alice has come to harm, but we are clearly very concerned for her welfare. I would urge everyone to be cautious about speculating on the exact involvement of Arnis Zalkalns, or any other individual, in relation to this investigation.”

He said Alice’s family were supportive of the police. “They are in a really difficult position but they are understanding of the framework in which we have to operate,” he said.

If Zalkalns were found in the UK police could arrest him on suspicion. But a European arrest warrant, which enables a foreign force to detain a suspect, needs evidence strong enough to bring a criminal charge. In the UK the standard is beyond reasonable doubt.

Steve Pound, MP for Ealing North, told the GetWestLondon website: “The whole investigation is just a litany of one disaster after another. Every day seems to bring more bad news in respect to how the police are conducting this investigation. Alice and her family deserve more and I am determined to get some answers.”

Met officers arrived in Latvia on Tuesday to sit in on police questioning of friends and family of Zalkalns in the hope that they might give insight into his whereabouts.

Toms Sadovskis, a spokesman for the Latvian state police, said there was no evidence Zalkalns was in the country or had tried to enter.

Scotland Yard announced two reviews of its investigation. One will look at the early part of the inquiry, after Alice went missing and Zalkalns went missing.

McNulty said Zalklans was last seen on 3 September, and reported missing on 5 September. By 11 September the Met had contacted their Latvian counterparts, and checks through Interpol revealed the suspect’s murder conviction. But it was not until 17 September that detectives scouring CCTV of the area near where Alice had been walking on the day she disappeared, spotted a cyclist who resembled Zalkalns.

Alice went missing after going for a walk by a canal in west London on 28 August. CCTV shows Zalkalns riding a bicycle past the same spot 15 minutes later. Police believe he would have encountered the teenager.

Zalkalns, 41, served an eight-year prison sentence in his native Latvia, where he was jailed in 1998. In 2009, he was arrested over an alleged indecent assault on a teenage girl in Ealing, west London, but the case was dropped because the alleged victim declined to make a statement.

On Thursday police will mark four weeks since Alice’s disappearance by carrying out a reconstruction of her last known moments.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014 ... st-warrant

[Carana]

The most important thing is obviously to try to find the girl. I withhold judgement on this guy as it may turn out that he had nothing to do with her disappearance. If that's the case, someone who knows him should convince him to come forward to be interviewed and eliminated so the police can zoom in on whoever else they may have in mind.

[Truthiness2]

They should have done that reconstruction a lot earlier imo.

I had no sense of the area or it's scale just by looking at maps supplied by the MET.

I can't help but think that the Latvian man rode past her and hid behind that bridge wall and grabbed her as she came out from under it

[Carana]

They should have done that reconstruction a lot earlier imo.

I had no sense of the area or it's scale just by looking at maps supplied by the MET.

I can't help but think that the Latvian man rode past her and hid behind that bridge wall and grabbed her as she came out from under it

They don't seem terribly sure that it's him for the moment.

[Truthiness2]

They should have done that reconstruction a lot earlier imo.

I had no sense of the area or it's scale just by looking at maps supplied by the MET.

I can't help but think that the Latvian man rode past her and hid behind that bridge wall and grabbed her as she came out from under it

They don't seem terribly sure that it's him for the moment.

I think they are, they just don't have the evidence?

Bit of a coincidence that a man who was on the same path on a bike, at the time she went missing, goes missing a few days later?

He gives that very bike to someone at a previous address to look after before he goes AWOL.

The landlord of his house was a convicted p.a.e.dophile.

He has a conviction for premeditated murder and was suspected of sexually assaulting a 14 year old.

It's not looking good for him, is it?

[Mobyra]

I saw a clip of little Alice this morning singing. The voice of an angel - I desperately hope they find her alive & well, though it isn't looking very good at the moment.

[catkins]

I saw a clip of little Alice this morning singing. The voice of an angel - I desperately hope they find her alive & well, though it isn't looking very good at the moment.

Same here....

[Carana]

FIND ALICE GROSS retweeted
Metropolitan Police @metpoliceuk · 10h

#AliceGross reconstruction underway at Brentford Lock - did you see her on Aug 28? Call 0208 358 0100 #FindAlice

A £20,000 reward is now being offered to help find the teen.

Detective superintendent Carl Mehta said: "The public's support has been amazing, both from the local community and all the hundreds of people who have called in to give us information.

"We still need your help to find Alice and bring her home to her family.

"Today my appeal is simple. Alice was last seen on CCTV walking along the canal towpath, heading under Trumpers Way bridge towards Hanwell. Since 16.26 on that Thursday 28 August she has not been seen. Did you see Alice that afternoon? Have you seen her since? We need your help to find her.

"Just as Alice reached the bridge it started to rain heavily. Think back and try to remember if you were out and about in that area that afternoon. It was during the summer holidays and the canal is a really popular place locally.

"We know that Alice loved the rain, so she probably would have kept walking in it rather than seek shelter. There are many paths and turn offs from that canal towpath. We don't know the route that Alice took, so please think back to that Thursday four weeks ago and call us if you can help."

Alice is described as white, 5ft 2in tall and of very slim build with shoulder-length, light brown hair. When she left home that day she was wearing dark blue jeans and a dark t-shirt, and tartan framed glasses.

She was carrying a dark rucksack, and wearing denim blue Vans shoes, these shoes were in her rucksack when it was found by police on 2 September.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/missing-alice- ... us-1467115

[honestbroker1]

FIND ALICE GROSS retweeted
Metropolitan Police @metpoliceuk · 10h

#AliceGross reconstruction underway at Brentford Lock - did you see her on Aug 28? Call 0208 358 0100 #FindAlice

Proper use of a reconstruction, to jog memories, raise awareness, generate new leads.

I'm sure I needn't go on ...

[scoobydoo]

They have called off the search in the park now saying its not relevant. So still hope.

The mean they are looking for is a very obvious suspect, attempted to murder his wife, a year later murdered her, in 2009 he was questioned about assaulting a girl the same age as Alice, he would have passed Alice just after she was last seen, he has now disappeared. But maybe he was innocent of the attack in 2009 and given his history knew he would be a suspect given he had passed her so he panicked and ran. Maybe he saw something and was killed himself. I have a feeling this area isn't too far from where two other girls disappeared in the late nineties. I can't remember the details but I think one was of Chinese origin so there is a good chance she was very petite too. Although the type of coward who would grab a young woman from the streets is probably not going to try to attack a six foot female rugby player type.

I hope they find her.

[Jayelles]

FIND ALICE GROSS retweeted
Metropolitan Police @metpoliceuk · 10h

#AliceGross reconstruction underway at Brentford Lock - did you see her on Aug 28? Call 0208 358 0100 #FindAlice

Proper use of a reconstruction, to jog memories, raise awareness, generate new leads.

I'm sure I needn't go on ...

Yes, and actors used (as they are in every reconstruction I have ever seen).

[Whiterose]

The fact that her back pack was found doesn't look good for her

[scoobydoo]

The fact that her back pack was found doesn't look good for her

I know, and the prime suspect has not been seen and has not used his phones or money. I can't help thinking he has killed himself, which doesn't look good either.

[honestbroker1]

Police have recovered a body from a river ....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... Brent.html

[Truthiness2]

Devastated for her family

[Mobyra]

Devastated for her family

Absolutely heartbreaking, it's beyond imagination what that poor family is going through right now.

[Carana]

How sad...

Even though it wasn't sounding good for her, there's always that little flicker of hope. I know it's no consolation in this time of grief and shock for her family and friends, but at least her body was found. RIP Alice.

[catkins]

Poor little Alice.....May she rest in peace....

[Hael]

Now a murder investigation.

[Alibongo]

I hope her family are left alone by the media to come to terms with the loss of their precious Daughter.
And I hope the police catch the bastard responsible asap!!

[Whiterose]

Very sad, I think her parents were hoping she was still alive, RIP Alice