Claire Knights: Murder arrest over missing woman

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder by police investigating the disappearance of a woman last seen in a Kent village two days ago.

Claire Knights, 54, was last spotted in the village of Upstreet, near Canterbury, on Wednesday morning.

Searches were being carried out to locate her by police in Thanet, after her dog was found in the area.

Kent Police said they were treating her disappearance as suspicious, and that a man in his 20s had been held.

Detectives from the force's major crime unit said officers had traced Ms Knights' spaniel, called Zebulon, in Minnis Bay on the day she was last seen.

They described her disappearance as "entirely out of character".

Det Ch Insp Kath Way said: "Specialist officers are supporting the family at what is obviously an extremely difficult time for them and my officers are working hard to find out what happened to Claire."

A force spokesperson said people in Thanet could expect to see an increased police presence in the area as searches for Ms Knights continued.

She is described as 5ft 6in tall, with straight brown, greying hair. She was thought to be carrying a red or pink rucksack and was walking a white and brown spaniel.

Det Ch Insp Way said: "We are keeping an open mind as to what may have happened and still hope to find Claire safe and well, however we are now also treating this case as a potential murder."

She urged anyone who may have seen Ms Knights to contact them, and officers would also like residents with private CCTV or motorists with dashcam footage to check for relevant images.

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