Owami Davies: Missing student nurse found alive and wellon August 23, 2022 at 4:23 pm

Student nurse Owami Davies has been found alive and well in Hampshire, the Met Police has confirmed.

A member of the public came forward after a police appeal, which saw a huge public response and 117 possible sightings.

Ms Davies, who was studying nursing at King’s College London, left her home in Grays, Essex, on 4 July, and was last seen on CCTV in Croydon on 7 July.

The Met said it would now review its investigation along with Essex Police.

Police have been working to retrace the 24-year-old’s steps, with some 50 officers trawling through 50,000 hours of CCTV footage.

The Met said she had been discovered after the 118th reported sighting, which it had received at 10:30 BST this morning.

The force added Ms Davies’s family had spoken to her and she appeared to be fit and well cared for.

Officers will speak to Ms Davies more fully in due course about her welfare.

Det Ch Insp Nigel Penney, who led the investigation, said it was “the outcome we were all hoping and praying for”.

“I’d like to say she has been found safe and well outside the London area in the county of Hampshire and she’s currently with specialist officers from my team.”

He added: “She looks in good health, she’s in a place of safety, and not currently in the vulnerable state that we were led to believe she was in at the start of her disappearance.”

Both Cmdr Paul Brogden and Mr Penney said they were “ecstatic” at the outcome of the case, with the Met commander adding: “More importantly I’m pleased for Owami’s mother and her brother.”

Mr Brogden also said “all aspects” of the investigation would be reviewed to assess whether there is “any learning that we need to take” from how it was handled.

Before she went missing Ms Davies was nearing the end of her studies at King’s College London and had an interest in doing research on diseases.

She had secured a job with Guys St Thomas Trust (GSTT) after working as an A&E nurse during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Her colleagues at GSTT welcomed the news she was safe, tweeting: “We are delighted that our colleague Owami has been found and is safe. Thank you to everyone who helped to find her.”

Ms Davies had left her family home in Grays, Essex, on 4 July, having told her mother she was going to the gym.

She was found asleep in a doorway in Clarendon Road, Croydon, on 6 July while waiting for a friend, but told Met Police officers that she did not need help and left.

Her family had reported her disappearance before then but Ms Davies had not been marked as a missing person on the police database at that time.

Detectives said on Monday that Ms Davies could be sleeping rough as she had no money on her Oyster card and no access to her phone or bank cards, but added they were keeping an open mind on all possibilities.

Five people were arrested and bailed in connection with her disappearance – two on suspicion of murder and three on suspicion of kidnap – but the Met later said there was no evidence that she had come to harm.

Officers confirmed on Tuesday that all five were still on police bail and a decision on what happens next to them would follow a “full debrief”.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it was “assessing the available information to determine what further action may be required”, with regards to the police investigation.

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