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Grace Millane murder: New Zealand police find body in search for British backpacker Grace Millane murder: New Zealand police find body in search for British backpacker
(about 1 hour later)
New Zealand police investigating the murder of British backpacker Grace Millane say they have found a body. New Zealand police investigating the murder of Grace Millane have found a body in dense bushland west of Auckland.
Detective Inspector Scott Beard said the body, found in bushland to the west of Auckland, was believed to be that of the 22-year-old but that it had not yet been formally identified. Det Insp Scott Beard said the body is believed to be that of the missing 22-year-old British backpacker, but it has yet to be formally identified.
The news came after a “location of interest” was identified by detectives investigating Millane’s disappearance a week ago. “A short time time ago we located a body which we believe to be Grace,” said Beard. “The formal identification process will now take place, however, based on the evidence we have gathered over the past few days, we believe this is Grace.”
Beard said earlier a scene examination was under way at a bush area on Scenic Drive, a countryside road on the city’s outskirts. Beard said this was an “unbearable” time for Millane’s family, and “our hearts go out to them”.
A missing-person search changed on Saturday when investigators announced they believed Millane, who was last seen alive on 1 December, had been murdered. Millane’s father, David, arrived in Auckland on Friday and issued an emotional plea for information about his daughter. David has now been joined by his brother from England, while the rest of the Millane family remain at home in the UK.
A 26-year-old man has been charged and police have been looking into the movements of a vehicle around the time Millane disappeared. Church services are being held in Grace’s home county of Essex, and thoughts and prayers were also offered for the young traveller at church services around the country in New Zealand. Beard said the police were “pleased to be giving Grace back to her family”, and that even though the Millanes were “devastated” there was some relief that she had been found.
“Police investigating the murder of English tourist Grace Millane have identified a location of interest,” Beard said in a statement earlier. “This is a methodical and slow process and is expected to take all day. At this stage we are not able to confirm whether Grace has been located at this site.” “Any father, any parent in this situation, will struggle, I feel for him, I have a daughter in her 20s, so we are putting a lot of support around him but it’s difficult,” said Beard.
Millane, from Essex, was on a year-long round-the-world trip after graduating from university. She had arrived in New Zealand on 20 November, following six weeks in South America. The body was found on Sunday afternoon in forest about 10 metres from a road, Beard said, after 18 police and forensic experts began searching the Waitakere Ranges at lunchtime. The area had earlier been identified as a “location of interest” on Saturday night after a 26-year-old man was charged with Millane’s murder.
Millane’s father, David, arrived in Auckland on Friday morning, issuing an emotional plea for the public to come forward with any information relating to his daughter. A hire car sought in connection with the investigation has also been located in the central North Island town of Taupo, Beard said, and police were appealing for anyone who had seen the vehicle on Monday 3 December in the West Auckland area between the hours of 6.30-9.30am.
Press Association contributed to this report The forest is located 20km west of Queen Street in central Auckland where Millane went missing a week ago, and is a popular recreational spot for day-walkers. Beard would not be drawn on what condition the body was found in, but said a formal identification and postmortem examination would take place on Monday.
Beard would not say whether the murder was premeditated, or how or when Millane had met her alleged killer.
A missing-person search changed to a homicide investigation on Saturday when investigators said they believed Millane, who was last seen alive on 1 December, had been murdered.
Millane was on a year-long round-the-world trip after graduating from university. She had arrived in New Zealand on 20 November, following six weeks in South America.
Millane was captured on CCTV footage with her alleged killer at multiple central Auckland locations on the night of her disappearance, and was last seen alive walking into the CityLife hotel with him at 9.41pm on Saturday. A room at the hotel was searched by police on Friday and Saturday.
A spokeswoman for Tourism New Zealand told local radio that Millane’s murder was sending ripples of unease through the travelling community, with the country previously regarded as a very safe place to visit.
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