Detective Inspector Callum Hansen of Wiltshire Police defended the Force’s handling of the inquiry. He said: ‘We are taking Lucy’s disappearance very seriously and are leaving no stone unturned. We’re putting together a timeline of her last movements.
‘As for this person who called the school, this is clearly a very compelling piece of information.’
Friends from Lucy’s Rainbows group – a youth club set up for teens and run from a church hall in Gorse Hill – are still coming to terms with their friend’s disappearance.
Colette Newbury, 14, told the Courant, ‘She’s always just been this big, bubbly ball of energy and happiness – always smiling, happy to help the younger members and listen to the older ones. People are saying all sorts of horrid things, like she had a secret boyfriend, or something, but that’s not Lucy at all. She’s just sweet, really. I don’t think she’s got any interest in boys. Honestly, she’d be giddy if you gave her a bar of chocolate so there’s no way she would keep something like this to herself. I’m thinking all sorts of horrible things. I just want her to come home.’
HELP BRING ‘PERFECT SON’ HOME
By Roger Lytollis
June 12, 2006
A 14-YEAR-old boy missing from his Carlisle home has been called ‘a perfect son’ by his frantic parents.
Phillip Westoby was last seen leaving his home in Carlisle’s Morton Park at a little before 9 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Five days on, his parents say they have ‘done everything in their power’ to try and contact him and now believe he may have been taken against his will.
Phillip’s mother, Sue, a receptionist at a city centre dental surgery, is urging anybody with information to contact police.
She said: ‘We know for an absolute fact that he left the house early on Sunday because a neighbour saw him closing the door and heading down the drive. We think he may have been heading to the newsagent’s to pick up some things. There was very little milk in the fridge and he likes to start the day with a good breakfast. That’s the kind of lad he is. Reliable. Decent. He’d see something missing from the cupboards and would just go off and get a replacement. He liked surprising us. Getting the papers – spending his pocket money on little treats for his dad and me and his big brother.
‘It sounds hard to believe but he’s always been a perfect son. His dad suffers with terrible back pains and Phil has very much stepped up as the man of the house. I just want him home.’
Police claim they take every missing persons case seriously and have urged anybody with information to get in touch.
HOPE FADING IN MISSING SCHOOLGIRL INVESTIGATION
Durham Sentinel, April 2, 2005
A SENIOR detective has warned that the chances of recovering missing schoolgirl Melanie Grazia are growing slimmer with every day that goes by. The 14-year-old went missing from boarding school in picturesque Barnard Castle, Weardale, on Friday afternoon.
The ‘star pupil’ excused herself from lessons to return to the boarding house, suffering from stomach cramps and blurred vision. She was walked back by a fellow classmate, who returned to lessons when Melanie was still on the doorstep of the small property in the grounds of the Victorian-built school.
The Head of Pastoral received a telephone message around the time of the final school bell stating that Melanie’s parents had come to pick her up and that she would be away all weekend. As this is against school policy, the staff member called her parents to clarify. They claimed they had left no such telephone message. Police were called the following morning.
A spokesman for the school said: ‘We are reviewing all of our safeguarding policies but for now all that matters is finding Melanie safe and well. She has been gone for over a week now and her friends are frantic with worry. She is a big part of this school, be it her integral part of the school’s drama group; the orchestra, the choir, the sports team. She’s an exceptional person and a true delight to have around. She’s a big help with the younger pupils who struggle to readjust to life away from home.’
Inspector Simon Marsh, of Durham Constabulary Press Office, said: ‘We all have our fingers crossed that Melanie is with a friend and is safe and well and ready to come home. Certainly the information we have suggests that she had been struggling with some emotional problems in recent weeks and had complained to her family of being overwhelmed by her workload and in need of some space to clear her head. But the statistics make for grim reading and with each day that goes by without us finding a firm lead, the chances of a happy ending to all this grow slimmer.’
Police are urging witnesses to come forward. Melanie is 5' 3", with olive skin, green eyes and black hair. She was wearing a blue jumper, pleated blue skirt and black shoes when she was last seen in the school grounds. Witnesses have reported seeing a girl matching her description sitting alone in the park near the town’s historic ruined castle, though police have been unable to verify the sightings.
ONE
‘OM actual G! Have you seen yourself? It’s, like, super awks, seeing your dad all, y’know … cringe! Like, I can’t see where you stop and the armchair begins.’
Rufus Orton opens one eye and immediately regrets it. Inside his skull, the movement makes a sound like a windscreen wiper screeching across icy glass. He manages a low groan, and angles the bloodshot eye down towards various parts of himself. He feels the same little flicker of surprise as he assesses the devastation of the vessel into which he has been poured. Not young any more. Not much to look at. Not the floppy-haired author whose books were going to change the world. He’s middle-aged, provided he dies aged
