Owami Davies: Police trawl through 50,000 hours of CCTV footage

Police are trawling through hours of CCTV footage for sightings of missing Owami Davies following an appeal.

The last confirmed sighting of the student nurse was at 12:30 BST on 7 July, three days after she left her home in Grays, Essex, on 4 July.

Ms Davies, 24, was captured on CCTV walking along London Road in Croydon, south London, wearing a red T-shirt and carrying a white handbag.

The Met said it was possible "she is in the local area and in need of help".

Five people arrested in connection with Ms Davies' disappearance - two on suspicion of murder and three on suspicion of kidnap - have been released on bail, pending further investigation.

Officers working on the investigation have retrieved some 50,000 hours of footage and have so far viewed about 10,000 hours, a Met spokesman said.

Det Ch Insp Nigel Penney, who is leading the work, said "outstanding" public support for the appeal had led to unconfirmed sightings of Ms Davies after 7 July.

He said: "The search to find Owami Davies continues and we are conducting searches, appeals and extensive CCTV inquiries in order to trace and find her.

"I would remind people that even though detectives from Specialist Crime are investigating, this remains a missing person inquiry.

"We are obviously very concerned for the welfare of Owami and it is possible she is in the local area and in need of help. We have reports of someone of Owami's description being seen in the Croydon area in the days after she was last seen on CCTV and we sincerely hope to find her safe and well."

Det Ch Insp Penney also urged Ms Davies or anyone who may be with her to get in touch as her family are "desperate" for news.

"Please be assured you are not in any trouble at all," he said.

"We are only concerned for your welfare and want to make sure you are OK. You can contact us, or a charity like Missing People on 116 000 and just speak to let us know that you are ok.

"Owami, your family love you and are desperate for news, they would be overjoyed to hear you are safe."

Ms Davies was nearing the end of her studies at King's College London and had secured a job with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

She had worked in A&E during the Covid-19 pandemic and was interested in doing research on diseases.

Avey Bhatia, chief nurse at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We are devastated about the disappearance of our colleague Owami Davies who is a final-year student nurse at our Trust.

"While we await further developments on this police investigation, our thoughts remain with Owami's family and friends, and the many colleagues who work with her.

"We want to encourage anyone who may have any information, no matter how insignificant, to contact the police."

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