Family of Owami Davies' 'deepest gratitude' after she was found safe

‘Together we searched far and beyond. We are forever grateful’: Family’s relief as missing student nurse Owami Davies, 24, is found ‘safe and well’ in Hampshire eight weeks after going missing

Student nurse Owami Davies has been found ‘safe and well’ in Hampshire, Scotland Yard has said
Miss Davies, 24, was at the centre of a missing person’s inquiry for more than seven weeks
She left her family home in Grays, Essex, on July 4 and her location remained a mystery
Despite five arrests, officers struggled to find her Miss Davies as they trawled through 117 reported sightings

The relieved family of student nurse Owami Davies have described their ‘deepest gratitude to each and every one of you wherever you are, whoever you are’ for helping find the 24-year-old after she went missing nearly eight weeks ago – and was discovered ‘safe and well’ in Hampshire 100 miles from home.

Fears for her safety had been mounting over the past two months after the King’s College London nursing student was last seen walking north along London Road in Croydon on July 7 after leaving her family home in Grays, Essex three days earlier – having told her mother she was going to the gym.

Despite the arrests of five people and numerous appeals for information, some 50 officers were struggling to locate Miss Davies as they trawled through 117 reported sightings of her and 50,000 hours of CCTV footage as they frantically worked to retrace the student nurse’s steps.

The 118th report, made in response to a media appeal by a member of the public, at 10.30am today was the one which led to her being found.

Writing on Twitter this evening, Miss Davies’ family said: ‘Good evening everyone, Owami Davies has been found. Found alive and safe. We spoke to her. We the Davies family would like to express our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you wherever you are, whoever you are. Thank you for your well wishes, love, hugs, and thoughts. Together we searched far & beyond. We are forever grateful.’

Her colleagues at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSST) added: ‘We are delighted that our colleague Owami has been found and is safe. Thank you to everyone who helped to find her.’

Both Essex Police and the neighbouring Metropolitan Police have faced widespread criticism for their repeated failures over the case – including the fact that Scotland Yard officers spoke to her the same day that she was reported missing to Essex Police, July 6, after being called to welfare concerns for a woman sleeping in a Croydon doorway.

The matter was later referred to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is assessing whether to take further action.

Among Scotland Yard’s failures included:

The accidental release a CCTV image of another woman;
The first appeal for her whereabouts being issued three weeks after she went missing;
The case not being passed to the Specialist Crime squad until August 1;
A search of the house in Croydon not being done until August 5.

Student nurse Owami Davies, who has been found ‘safe and well’ in Hampshire

The Met Police has confirmed its officers spoke to Miss Davies in Croydon on July 6, two days after she went missing

Miss Davies, a King’s College London nursing student, pictured left and right

Her colleagues at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSST) added: ‘We are delighted that our colleague Owami has been found and is safe. Thank you to everyone who helped to find her’

– July 4: Miss Davies leaves her family home in Grays, Essex, telling her mother she is going to the gym.

– July 6: Her family officially report her as missing to Essex Police.

Separately, the Metropolitan Police are called to an address on Clarendon Road, Croydon, to concerns over the welfare of a woman. Officers attend, call the London Ambulance Service and speak to the woman. She tells them she does not want help and leaves the address before the ambulance service can attend. Miss Davies had not been marked as a missing person on the police database at this time and the Met only later establish that the woman was the 24-year-old as a result of their missing person investigation.

– July 7: Miss Davies is last seen just after midnight on Derby Road, West Croydon, in south London.

– July 11: Essex Police make an investigative decision to issue a proactive media appeal.

– July 16: The force releases a second appeal which it then shares on Facebook three days later.

– July 23: The investigation is officially transferred from Essex Police to the Metropolitan Police after it becomes clear a significant number of inquiries to locate Miss Davies have been in London.

– July 31: The Met Police issue their first appeal for information on her whereabouts – now three weeks after she went missing.

– August 1: The force arrests two men, aged 23 and 27, in the Croydon area on suspicion of murder in relation to the investigation.

– August 2: A third man, 32, is arrested on suspicion of murder at an address in South Croydon.

– August 3: Miss Davies’ mother Nicol Davies appeals to the public, saying: ‘I am begging, I am asking for the public’s help, from the people, to say if you know, if you have heard or seen her, or she passed you, please speak up.’ Speaking at New Scotland Yard, she says her daughter was ‘really happy’, had about two months left of her studies and recently secured a job with Guy’s and St Thomas’. On the same day, a 22-year-old man is arrested at an address in Croydon on suspicion of murder.

– August 5: The Independent Office for Police Conduct receives a referral from the Metropolitan Police Service in relation to the contact officers had with Owami Davies in Croydon on July 6.

– August 6: Police make a fifth arrest as they detain a 27-year-old man on suspicion of kidnap.

– August 9: The Met Police issue an update on the investigation, saying that officers have searched houses and parks, viewed hundreds of hours of CCTV and conducted extensive door-to-door inquiries. The force also reveals that the five men arrested during the course of the investigation have been released on bail.

– August 16: Scotland Yard issue a fresh appeal saying Miss Davies could be ‘in the local area and in need of help’.

– August 18: British Transport Police (BTP) tweet that the 24-year-old could still regularly be taking trains, may appear dazed or confused and may be seeking to engage with women travelling alone. The Metropolitan Police say in a statement: ‘Owami has been depressed and in the absence of her medication may use alcohol to relieve her depression.’

– August 20: The Met Police confirm to the media that their officers came into contact with Miss Davies at the address in Clarendon Road, Croydon, on July 6. The IOPC also confirms it has received a referral over the matter, is assessing the material and is considering whether further action is required.

– August 22: The Met Police there is ‘no evidence that she’s come to harm’ and detectives are ‘still hopeful that we’ll find her alive and well’. They add that she could be sleeping rough. It is confirmed that she has no money left on her Oyster card, used to pay on public transport, and no access to her phone or bank cards.

– August 23: Owami is found safe and well in Hampshire

Today, Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney from the force’s Specialist Crime Command said: ‘This is clearly the outcome we were hopeful for – the finding of the missing lady, Owami Davies.

‘I’d like to say she has been found safe and well outside the London area in the county of Hampshire and she’s currently with specialist officers from my team.’

He added: ‘She looks in good health, she’s in a place of safety, and not currently in the vulnerable state that we were led to believe she was in at the start of her disappearance.’

The force also confirmed Miss Davies’ family had spoken to her after she had been found.

Met Commander Paul Brogden said ‘all aspects’ of the investigation are now to be reviewed to assess whether there is ‘any learning that we need to take’ from how it was handled.

Both Mr Brogden and Mr Penney said they were ‘ecstatic’ at the outcome of the case, with the Met Commander adding: ‘More importantly I’m pleased for Owami’s mother and her brother.’

Five people were arrested and bailed in connection with her disappearance – two on suspicion of murder and three on suspicion of kidnap – but police said there was no evidence that she had come to harm.

Officers confirmed that all five were released and are still on police bail, with a decision on what will happen next following a ‘full debrief’.

Mr Penney added the Met will speak to Ms Davies and try to establish what led to her disappearance.

‘Owami will be spoken to and we’ll try to fathom reasons as to how she disappeared, why she disappeared, and if there was any concern around the days and weeks while she was disappeared for us to be concerned about,’ he said.

Asked whether Ms Davies was aware of the scale of the search for her, the officer said he believed she ‘probably was’ given the amount of publicity the case attracted.

Mr Brogden added: ‘Obviously we’ll be dealing compassionately with Owami from this point onwards, with partner agencies, but great news here.’

It comes after it emerged that police searching for Miss Davies wrongly released photos of another woman which were then reported by media outlets.

On August 7, the Metropolitan Police released CCTV images from a Croydon convenience store dated August 3, picturing a woman they said was Miss Davies. The force realised the error and withdrew the pictures ‘hours later’, issuing an apology.

It said: ‘We previously issued two still CCTV images of a woman in a shop which were titled Owami Davies shop. These images are not of Owami – please withdraw them from any publications.

‘We will be sending out correct images ASAP and apologise for this error.’

Amid reports about the police’s mistake, a Met Police spokesman told MailOnline that the main focus should be on trying to find Miss Davies.

They did not respond when asked about reports that the two pictures of the incorrect woman were left with media outlets for ‘hours’ or when questioned about how they identified her as being Miss Davies.

In a statement, the Met said: ‘The image was published in error and was removed as soon as this was realised.’

It comes as it emerged that an NHS trust offered her a job then withdrew it because she did not respond to her emails while she went missing.

Staff members at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSST), where Miss Davies was working, claimed that bosses did not notify them about her disappearance for a month.

They told The Independent that GSTT’s recruitment team did not know she was missing until around August 4, when a trust-wide email was sent out – meaning the trust had been sending emails about the job offer to Miss Davies with the expectation of a reply while police investigations were underway.

When she failed to respond, an automated job rejection email was sent to her on August 4 informing her that she no longer had long-term work prospects there.

Staff members claimed this may have caused Miss Davies further distress if she was still viewing emails.

Handout CCTV image issued by Metropolitan Police of Miss Davies walking north on London Road, Croydon away from West Croydon about 12.30pm on Thursday July 7

Nicol Davies, the mother of missing student nurse Owami Davies, speaks to the media at New Scotland Yard on August 3

A spokesperson from GSTT also confirmed to MailOnline that the job offer was withdrawn due to an automated system when a response was not received.

They said in a statement: ‘Owami has been offered a job with our Trust but unfortunately our automated system withdrew this when a response was not received within a specific timeframe.

‘As soon as this was discovered we very quickly reinstated the job offer which remains open.’

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