Libby Squire missing: Man arrested over disappearance of 21-year-old Hull university student

24-year-old man held by Humberside Police in connection with disappearance

Tim Wyatt
Thursday 07 February 2019 08:45 GMT
Parents of missing 21-year-old Libby Squire make emotional plea for information

A man has been arrested over the disappearance of 21-year-old student Libby Squire after she vanished following a night out in Hull.

Humberside Police said a 24-year-old man was being held after he was arrested at a home in Hull on Wednesday.

“Officers made the arrest at an address in Raglan Street, Hull, last night,” the force said in a statement.

“The man remains in our custody, assisting us with our enquires. We have not yet found Libby and doing so remains our top priority.

“Libby’s parents have been informed of the man’s arrest and we’re continuing to support them at this difficult time.”

A car on Raglan Street was towed away later on Thursday morning as part of the police investigation.

It comes after police said officers would be taking to the streets where the missing Ms Squire was last seen almost a week ago.

An 11-square-metre screen displaying images of the University of Hull student, who was reported missing from the city in the early hours of Friday, will also be driven around the area.

The force said officers would speak with people and hand out leaflets on Thursday night in a bid to gather information about her disappearance.

On Wednesday, her parents Lisa and Russ issued a statement thanking everyone who had helped in the search for their daughter, saying they had been “overwhelmed with people’s kindness and support”.

They said: “Growing up, Libby was a really happy child, and she is extremely close to her family and her siblings.”

The couple said their daughter had enjoyed studying English language and literature and Latin at school with a close group of friends she had known since primary school.

She moved to Hull in September 2017 to study philosophy and was “really happy” at the university with a “lovely group of friends”.

Staff and students at the University of Hull gather for a tribute to Libby Squire on Tuesday

They said she had decided to attend Hull University because she “fell in love with the city”.

Officers have said Ms Squire was dropped off in a taxi near her home on Wellesley Avenue at 11.29pm on Thursday and was seen 10 minutes later on CCTV near a bench on Beverley Road, where a motorist stopped to offer her help.

She is believed to have been in this area until around 12.10am on Friday.

A woman, who did not want to be named, said she had heard an “urgent, panicked scream” outside her house at around 12.30am on Friday.

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The woman, who lives near Miss Squire’s home, said the area is populated by students who make a lot of noise “any day of the week” but the scream she heard was unusual and sounded like someone was “being harassed”.

She said the scream was followed by male voices and the sound of a “bang”.

“It was an urgent scream. It was panicked. It sounded like she was being harassed. That’s not unusual but not that kind of scream.”

The police had been told about it, she added.

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