Police continue to hunt for a missing 17-year-girl while her friend remains in custody accused of her kidnap.
Officers investigating the disappearance of Georgia Williams, from Wellington in Shropshire, said they are “gravely concerned” for her safety, adding it was “completely out of character”.
She was last seen when she left her family home at 7.30pm on Sunday, when she is thought to have made arrangements to contact her friend who is now being questioned by police.
The 22-year-old man, also from the town, was arrested on Wednesday in a budget hotel in Glasgow city centre by officers from Police Scotland on suspicion of kidnapping the girl.
The officers also seized a grey Toyota van while forensics teams back in Shropshire have been carrying out a fingertip search of a house in Wellington.
Superintendent Nav Malik, of West Mercia Police, described Georgia as “very bright” and a former head girl at her old school, who had been due to have her first driving lesson this week.
He said: “She wasn’t due to sit any exams, and we don’t know of anything that was troubling her.”
Mr Malik also confirmed that Georgia’s father is a serving West Mercia Police detective constable based at Malinsgate police station in Telford.
He said the man in custody was “a friend” of Georgia’s but not her boyfriend, and “may have been the last person to see her”. Georgia was reported missing by her parents on Tuesday after it emerged she had not stayed with friends.
Police confirmed she did take her mobile phone with her, but that the last text messages and calls were made from the phone shortly after she was last seen by her parents at about 7.30pm on Sunday.
The mobile phone has not been traced, said Mr Malik.
Detectives are now keen to uncover the movements of the grey Toyota Hiace 300 GS van seized by police – now being combed by forensics officers – which it is believed the arrested man had access to, according to police.
Mr Malik said the van had made a journey to Scotland, leaving Wellington at noon on Monday – heading north passing through Oswestry, Rhyl, Chester and Cumbria, before arriving in Glasgow at midday on Tuesday.
It is believed the van is owned by a member of the arrested man’s family.
Police have now released a picture of the vehicle and appealed for the public’s help to piece together where the van was from 7.30pm on Sunday – the last time Georgia was seen – until noon on Monday when it set off for Scotland.
Mr Malik said they had not been able to determine whether Georgia, who has two sisters, was in the van or not.
Georgia is described as white with red hair, and was last seen wearing a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt with a London bus motif, with black suede slip-on shoes and skinny jeans.
Mr Malik said: “It’s really important that if anyone has any information as to where she may be, then we want to hear from them.”
He added: “To Georgia – you are not in trouble, please contact the police or your parents.”
In Wellington, a semi-detached house in Avondale Road – where neighbours said a Jamie Reynolds lived with his parents – was yesterday being searched for a second day by forensics officers.
One woman, who declined to be named and lives nearby, said the man’s parents were not at the house when police arrived as they were currently abroad on holiday.
She described the man as “a polite and pleasant lad”.
“He went to school with my son and is a nice lad,” she said.
“It’s just a shock to see the police here.”
Another neighbour, who also declined to give her name, said police had arrived on Tuesday morning and broke down the door to get inside.
“They were in the white overalls, and searching inside and also taking photos in the garden,” she said.