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Murder arrest as police search for missing man

Essex Police A police officer wearing a black hat and hi-vis jacket. He is standing behind blue and white police tape down an alleyway, which has brick walls either side of it and a wheelie bin in the background.Essex Police
Police officers cordoned off an alleyway near Duke Street

Police have arrested a man on suspicion of murder as they continue searching for a missing person.

Officers have been carrying out inquiries in Duke Street, Chelmsford, as they look for a 46-year-old man who went missing from the city on Monday.

Essex Police said a body had not been found but "serious concerns" for the man's welfare had led them to treat the search as a murder investigation.

The force said a 44-year-old man, of no fixed abode, was arrested on suspicion of murder as inquiries continued.

Lewis Adams/BBC Three white forensic vans parked in a row on the street, in front of a brick building. They have Essex Police branding on them and a blue and yellow fluorescent panel.Lewis Adams/BBC
Police do not believe there is any wider risk to the public

Det Ch Insp Louise Metcalfe said officers were in regular contact with the missing man's family.

"This is a fast-moving investigation with officers working around the clock to establish the facts of the case," she added.

"We would urge people not to speculate about this incident while we carry out our work, but I'd like to reassure everyone that we do not believe there is any wider risk to the public."

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