Alice Gross's phone could hold key to her disappearance

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/11/alice-gross-phone-key-disappearance

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A text message sent from the phone of missing teenager Alice Gross shows she was intending to return to her west London home for a dinner cooked by her father on the day she disappeared.

Alice, 14, disappeared two weeks ago. Although the investigation is being led by homicide detectives police say it remains a missing persons inquiry.

Police say her white iPhone is missing and they believe it could hold vital clues. This includes whether she was in contact with anyone on social media including chat rooms on Ask.fm, which she used.

Det Ch Insp Andy Chalmers, leading the investigation, offered an amnesty to anyone who may have picked up the phone and promised they would not be arrested if they handed it in. Recovering the phone is one of the police's main lines of inquiry, with a host of others having produced a blank: "You will not be arrested but you have key information to assist me to progress this investigation."

The investigation was complex and Chalmers said police could not say what they believed had happened to her. Different pieces of evidence present differing possible reasons for her disappearance. Details of Alice's health have led to speculation she may have run away.

Chalmers said Alice and her family were seeking medical help for the anorexia she suffered which left them "in crisis", but she was on good terms with them. "Alice was going through a difficult time, as her family were as well. There was a crisis, she had anorexia, she was with her family engaging medical professionals, but it was difficult."

"It provided a context whereby she may have felt that she had to take drastic action which includes running away."

Chalmers added: "There was no argument that caused Alice to leave and go missing … They just want her to come home to where she belongs."

Detectives have arrested two people on suspicion of murder with a 51-year-old man released and eliminated as a suspect, and a man aged 25 released on bail.

Alice left her Hanwell home on August 28 at around 1pm and CCTV images recovered by police show her walking by the Brent river, Grand Union Canal and around the Brentford and Kew areas.

A bag recovered three miles from her home had a spare pair of underpants, a lunch box containing wrappers from the food she had eaten and the shoes she had been wearing when she left the family home.

Her white iPhone 4s, with a cracked back made distinctive by Alice colouring it with felt tip pens, was last used at 3.03pm to send a text message with her father.

Alice left home without keys and asked her dad what time he would get home from work. He replied he would be back at 6pm, and Chalmers added Alice's father was due to cook her dinner.

Chalmers said: "There is every indication at that point that her intention was to return home."

Alice by now was heading back towards home, and Chalmers added he could not rule out she encountered some "crisis" that prevented her. The last sighting of her captured on CCTV was at 4.26pm on a bridge crossing the Grand Union Canal.

Her phone was still accessing the internet at 5pm, which is something the phone may have done by itself or because someone was using it.

Chalmers said police knew Alice's online profile, and she connected to social media by her iPhone: "We know her profile online and we know a lot of the activity online, but we are also seeking to identify whether there is any hidden activity."

In a new statement, her sister Nina said: "Alice we love you, we miss you, you are not in any trouble and we just want you to come home. Please let someone know you are safe."

Chalmers said her thinness would have made her stand out to numerous people she passed, and urged anyone who had seen her to come forward.

Alice is white, 5ft 2in tall, of very slim build and has shoulder-length, light brown hair. She was last seen wearing dark blue jeans and a dark green lacy cardigan and carrying the dark rucksack.

Chalmers added: "There must be numerous people who must have seen Alice at various stages of her walk, she is very identifiable. Alice was a very thin person, it would have stuck in people's minds."

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the investigation team on 020 8358 0100, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111