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Search launched for missing girl, 9
Metro

Missing Shannon Matthews 'may have run away'

A desperate hunt was going on for a second night after nine-year-old Shannon Matthews vanished on her way from school.

As temperatures plummeted, police scoured woodlands and broke the ice on a lake yesterday in the search for the timid girl who is afraid of the dark.

As it was revealed Shannon had talked to friends about running away, her distraught mum Karen made a tearful appeal for her to return home.

She said: "Shannon, you are not in trouble, darling, please come home."


And added: "One thing Shannon does not like is dark and cold."

Chief Supt Barry South said: "Talks with Shannon's friends have revealed she had talked about running away.

"We are concerned about the cold weather and we're desperate to find her safe. Every hour counts at this stage."

As darkness fell, the police search moved to flats near Shannon's home where a cordon was put up and yellow cards marking evidence were scattered on the floor. Karen left her home to stay with her mum, June.

Shannon, described as "shy" and "happy go lucky" has never run off before.

She disappeared after she was dropped off by coach at school following a trip to a swimming pool on Tuesday.

Temperatures dropped to minus 7C throughout that night. The last confirmed sighting of Shannon was at around 3.10pm as she walked away from her school, West Moor junior, in Dewsbury, West Yorks.

Her home is less than a mile away.

Classmate Chloe West, eight, said: "After we all got off the bus, Shannon went a different way to the rest of us and we don't know why. Someone said they thought they saw her crying earlier in the day."

A fellow pupil claims to have seen Shannon at around 7.30pm. Kieran Dolen, 11, said he spotted her near the school's "top gates".

With his mum Tracy, 31, by his side, he said: "Shannon was walking towards a mud track at about 7.30pm."

Mrs Dolen said police told her Shannon's brother had been promised a computer for good behaviour. They feared she had run away upset that she did not have one of her own.

More than 200 officers searched the estate and surrounding area where she lives with Karen, 32, and brothers Tony, 11, Cameron, five, and sister Courtney, 18 months.

Karen's cousin Susan Howgate, 39, said: "Shannon's a quiet girl, very shy."

An uncle, Neil Hyett, 36, said: "Shannon's a happy-go-lucky girl, not one for going about on the streets.

"She is scared of the dark. That's why it's all a mystery." His wife Amanda, 25, added: "It was just too cold for her to have been out last night."

Shannon's father Leon Rose, 45, who is separated from Karen, said at his home in Huddersfield: "I'm just waiting on news and hoping she's OK."
Mirror

CCTV Of Missing Shannon

Police have released CCTV footage showing nine-year-old Shannon Matthews shortly before she disappeared. The CCTV images, released by West Yorkshire Police, show the young girl entering and leaving the Dewsbury Sports Centre Swimming Pool. Skynews

Missing Shannon Matthews: Family face worst fears
By Justin Penrose Crime Correspondent And Martin Coutts


The distraught father of missing schoolgirl Shannon Matthews last night told of his fear the nine-year-old will be found dead.

Leon Rose, 29 - who has split from Shannon's mother - said: "Every day since she went missing has been an absolute nightmare.

"I just hope she's not dead. I don't want to find her at the bottom of a pond. But I don't want to fear the worst. I'd rather be driving down the road and see her walking along. We need everybody out there searching for her."

Leon - who spoke of his heartache as the fifth day of the search for Shannon came to an end - urged any potential abductor to free her.

Devastated mum Karen, 32 - who lives five miles frrom Leon - believes her daughter is still alive and will be found.

Shannon's aunt Amanda Hyett, 25, said last night: "Karen's obviously distraught, she just wants her daughter back.

"We all believe in our heart of hearts that Shannon is alive and for us the search will never stop.

"We have no idea what's happened to Shannon or why she should go, but if someone has her, then please let her go.

"Karen's bearing up well given the circumstances but she needs her daughter back safe and well. We just want her to come home." Detectives last night said they were gravely concerned about the missing schoolgirl.

Specialist police divers yesterday returned to scour a pond near her home in Dewsbury. Up to 300 police officers combed the West Yorkshire town and made house-to-house inquiries.

The search was also widened to all ponds, sewers and gullies. But the massive police manhunt has not turned up a single clue as to Shannon's whereabouts. Friends and family distributed thousands of leaflets to fans at Leeds' Elland Road stadium yesterday before the game against Crewe Alexandra.

It is hoped the picture of Shannon will jog someone's memory. Police are also investigating whether Shannon left home to try to go to Leon's house.

Chief Superintendent Barry South, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "We've got to remain optimistic, but we are gravely concerned.

"We are targeting specific locations that we need to search in case Shannon has had an accident. We're putting extensive resources into our search activity and it will continue over the next few days."

Karen - a mother of seven - and her boyfriend Craig Meehan, 22, are being looked after by police liaison officers.

Shannon disappeared on Tuesday after she left school.

The last known sighting of her was at 3.10pm as she walked away from Westmoor Juniors after returning from a swimming lesson. Her home is less than a mile away.

There are no CCTV cameras near her home, and cameras in the train and bus stations and town centre have not revealed any new pictures.

Yesterday detectives released CCTV footage showing Shannon - described as "timid" - entering and leaving Dewsbury Sports Centre swimming pool with classmates shortly before her disappearance.

Police sources said the search had now become a murder inquiry, or a search for Shannon's body.
Sundaymirror

Shannon Mystery: Flat Searched Sky

Hunt for missing Shannon: Police seal off mother's ex-boyfriend's flat Mail

Don't abandon my Shannon Sun

Police question 1,500 motorists in hunt for schoolgirl

More than 1,500 motorists have been stopped and questioned in the hunt for the missing Yorkshire schoolgirl Shannon Matthews, police said today.

The news came as the search for the nine-year-old entered its second week.

Officers questioned the motorists yesterday as police launched a major publicity drive a week after Shannon failed to her home in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, from school.

Detectives spoke to motorists at five locations near to where Shannon was last seen, as well as putting up large electronic boards appealing for information from the public.

Officers were preparing to visit more than 2,000 houses in the Dewsbury area.

The incident room has received over 500 calls since news of Shannon's disappearance was made public last Wednesday.

"What concerns me greatly at this point is that Shannon is a vulnerable nine-year-old who may have fallen into the wrong hands," Detective Inspector Andy Brennan, leading the investigation, told reporters yesterday.

Brennan appealed to anyone who was in the Dewsbury Moor area on February 19 to think back to anything unusual they had seen either that day or since.

"Did you see anybody in the area who may have looked out of place or you may not have seen previously?" he asked.

"Similarly, did you see any vehicles in the area that you haven't seen previously or looked out of place?"

He said officers remained "gravely concerned" for the schoolgirl.

Yesterday, Shannon's mother, Karen Matthews, and her stepfather, Craig Meehan, joined around 300 local people to march through the streets near their home.

They carried flowers and a large banner asking for help in finding Shannon, chanting her name and releasing multicoloured balloons outside their home.

Shannon was reported missing by her family last Tuesday evening after failing to return home from West Moor Junior School.

She was last seen as she left school at 3.10pm.
guardian

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Missing Shannon Matthews: Listen to mother's 999 call Mirror

Hunt for missing Shannon Matthews: Find her missing pink swim kit
By Lucy Thornton 5/03/2008




Shannon's distinctive swimming costume yesterday emerged as a major element of the search for her.

Detectives urged the public to look out for the unusual pink outfit, which she had in a plastic carrier bag when she was last seen.

They issued the plea as they revealed they now have a complete DNA profile of her to help pinpoint where she had been. But they stressed that finding the swimming kit would also yield crucial clues.

And Det Supt Andy Brennan said: "We are not just looking for Shannon, we're looking for potential evidence." Her two-piece outfit had an upper section like a tank-top, cross-over straps at the back and blue fish motifs at the top and bottom.


The youngster, returning from a school swimming trip, also had a striped blue towel in her bag.

Police have not yet found a replica of her costume as her gran bought it from a flea market rather than a high street shop.

As well as her DNA profile, police have a set of her fingerprints. Some 310 detectives and officers are involved in the hunt - one in 10 of the West Yorkshire force.

They have trawled 3,000 premises and used dogs trained to sniff out bodies.

Mr Brennan admitted grimly: "We continue to deal with it as a missing person inquiry... but this could be something more sinister."

Distraught mum Karen, 32, fears someone close to the family was responsible. The detective would only say yesterday: "It's just one area we're dealing with."

HOW TO HELP

If you have information about Shannon call West Yorkshire police on 01274 373737, or send text to 07786 200806.

Missing Shannon's stepfather: 'I had nothing to do with her disappearance' Mail