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| Alice Gross police look for missing London man | Alice Gross police look for missing London man |
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| Detectives investigating the disappearance of schoolgirl Alice Gross have said they are also searching for a man who has been missing for nearly two weeks. | |
| Fourteen-year-old Alice was last seen on 28 August, when she was captured on CCTV by the Grand Union canal in west London. | |
| Scotland Yard is appealing for the public's help to trace Arnis Zalkalns, who was last seen at his home in Ealing, west London, on 3 September. | Scotland Yard is appealing for the public's help to trace Arnis Zalkalns, who was last seen at his home in Ealing, west London, on 3 September. |
| The 41-year-old builder, who lives with his partner and child, was known to travel to work along a similar route to that which Alice took on the day she disappeared, police said. | |
| The fresh appeal came as Alice's mother, Rosalind Hodgkiss, encouraged anyone with information about her whereabouts to "come forward to the police and get her home because that's where she belongs and she needs to be here with us". | |
| Hodgkiss told BBC's Crimewatch: "There's not a moment of the day that you don't think about Alice and where she is, what might have happened or why she might have gone missing. It's almost impossible to describe what that pain feels like but we just want her to know: please Alice, if you're out there, come home." | Hodgkiss told BBC's Crimewatch: "There's not a moment of the day that you don't think about Alice and where she is, what might have happened or why she might have gone missing. It's almost impossible to describe what that pain feels like but we just want her to know: please Alice, if you're out there, come home." |
| A 25-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder on 6 September has been told he faces no further action. A 51-year-old man, who was arrested by officers on suspicion of murder on 7 September, was released with no further action the following day. | A 25-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder on 6 September has been told he faces no further action. A 51-year-old man, who was arrested by officers on suspicion of murder on 7 September, was released with no further action the following day. |
| Meanwhile, officers revealed that a couple had come forward to report a sighting of Alice's rucksack, which featured in a television appeal on Tuesday night's BBC Crimewatch. | |
| Police have released the photo of Zalkalns, with whom they would like to speak in connection with the investigation. | Police have released the photo of Zalkalns, with whom they would like to speak in connection with the investigation. |
| Det Supt Carl Mehta, from the Met's homicide and major crime command, said: "It is completely out of character for Arnis to go missing. His family is very worried about him. I am asking for anyone who has seen him, or knows where he is to get in touch. | Det Supt Carl Mehta, from the Met's homicide and major crime command, said: "It is completely out of character for Arnis to go missing. His family is very worried about him. I am asking for anyone who has seen him, or knows where he is to get in touch. |
| "Given the time that Arnis was last seen, and that he travels to work along a similar route to the one we know Alice took on 28 August, I am really keen to speak to him. At this stage, we simply want to speak to him, as he may well have important information that can help our search for Alice. | "Given the time that Arnis was last seen, and that he travels to work along a similar route to the one we know Alice took on 28 August, I am really keen to speak to him. At this stage, we simply want to speak to him, as he may well have important information that can help our search for Alice. |
| "I would stress that based on what we know now there is no evidence to suggest that Arnis and Alice knew each other. This continues to be a fast-moving investigation, and this is one of a number of lines of inquiry that we are urgently looking into." | "I would stress that based on what we know now there is no evidence to suggest that Arnis and Alice knew each other. This continues to be a fast-moving investigation, and this is one of a number of lines of inquiry that we are urgently looking into." |
| Zalkalns is believed to have left home early on Thursday 4 September, police said. He was due to meet a friend at about 8am to cycle to work in Isleworth together but failed to turn up. His normal route would have taken him along the Grand Union canal, where Alice went missing. | |
| He rides a red Trek mountain bike and was reported missing on Friday 5 September, police said. | He rides a red Trek mountain bike and was reported missing on Friday 5 September, police said. |
| Zalkalns is white, 5ft 10ins, of stocky build and with dark brown hair that he normally wears tied in a ponytail, said Scotland Yard. | Zalkalns is white, 5ft 10ins, of stocky build and with dark brown hair that he normally wears tied in a ponytail, said Scotland Yard. |
| Alice is white, 5ft 2ins 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 a dark rucksack. | Alice is white, 5ft 2ins 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 a dark rucksack. |
| Appealing for people to think whether they saw Alice on the afternoon she disappeared, Chalmers said she was "very identifiable". | Appealing for people to think whether they saw Alice on the afternoon she disappeared, Chalmers said she was "very identifiable". |
| "Alice was a very thin person, it would have stuck in people's minds," he added. | "Alice was a very thin person, it would have stuck in people's minds," he added. |
| Anyone with information is asked to contact the investigation team on 020 8358 0100, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. | Anyone with information is asked to contact the investigation team on 020 8358 0100, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. |