Jayden Parkinson inquiry: police urge public not to interfere with search

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/15/jayden-parkinson-police-search

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Police searching for a missing teenager have called on the public not to carry out their own searches as they say it could endanger their investigations.

Officers are treating the disappearance of 17-year-old Jayden Parkinson as murder and have called for the public's help in identifying a man seen heaving a "large and heavy" suitcase across a field in Oxfordshire at night.

Jayden was last seen on CCTV leaving Didcot Parkway railway station, in south Oxfordshire, at 4.30pm on 3 December.

Specialist officers are carrying out searches in Oxfordshire and Berkshire and have said the public's efforts risk jeopardising their own investigations.

A 22-year-old man from Reading and a youth of 17 from Oxfordshire who were arrested on suspicion of murder remain in custody.

Supt Christian Bunt, of Oxfordshire police, said: "At this stage it is a critical time in our investigation. There are currently a number of search scenes in Didcot and the surrounding area. We appreciate the public's co-operation and understanding while this takes place. Due to the nature of these searches, we would request the public refrain from organising their own search activity at this stage to avoid the risk of jeopardising the investigation."

Detectives have said a man was seen struggling with a suitcase in the village of Upton at 2am on Monday. He was seen in nearby Didcot around half an hour later. DCS Andy Murray said: "That suitcase was large, it was heavy, it was difficult to manage and that man was having difficulty removing that suitcase from that area."

The man is described as white, aged about 20, around 5ft 7ins, with a slim or medium build and short dark hair. He was wearing light-coloured jeans and carrying a suitcase of light-coloured canvas, possibly pale blue.

Jayden had moved out of her family home in Didcot to an homeless hostel in Oxford a few weeks before she vanished. Murray said her family still hoped she would be found alive despite the changing nature of the police inquiry.

"As you might imagine, they are distraught. They've still got hope but they are distraught and they want their daughter to come home," he said.

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