TRAGIC DISCOVERY
Sarah Everard cops find human remains in woodland after serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, arrested
HUMAN remains have been found in woodland by police investigating the murder and kidnap of Sarah Everard.
The 33-year-old vanished last week as she walked home from a friend's house in Clapham, south west London.
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The grim discovery was made on the site of a former golf course near Ashford, Kent.
It is 30 miles from the Deal home where Met Police gun cop Wayne Couzens, 48, was arrested on Tuesday night on suspicion of Sarah’s kidnap.
He was then arrested for her murder earlier today.
Police were unable to confirm the identity of the body and said it is likely to take 'a significant time' to be able to do so.
However, Sarah’s family were informed of the tragic find.
Sarah vanished eight days ago while walking home alone in Clapham, South West London.
Met commissioner Dame Cressida Dick announced the discovery of the remains at a press conference this evening.
Dame Cressida said: “I want to start by saying that my thoughts and prayers are with Sarah Everard’s family and her friends at this very difficult and painful time.
“As you are aware, a man has been arrested on suspicion of her murder.
“This evening detectives and search teams investigating Sarah’s disappearance have very sadly discovered what we believe at this stage to be human remains.
“The discovery was made in an area of woodland in Ashford, Kent.
“As you can imagine, at this early stage we are not able to confirm any identity and indeed this may take us some time.
“Specialist officers have been with Sarah’s family to update them on the investigation and to continue to support them as best we possibly can.”
Do you know Wayne Couzens? Contact The Sun [email protected] or WhatsApp 07423 720 250
The commissioner spoke of her revulsion over the arrest of one of her officers for the kidnap and murder of Sarah.
She said: “The news today that it was a Metropolitan Police officer arrested on suspicion of Sarah’s murder has sent waves of shock and anger through the public and through the whole of the Met.
“I speak on behalf of all my colleagues in the Met when I say we are utterly appalled at this dreadful news. Our job is to patrol the streets and to protect people.”
She went on: “The investigation is large, fast moving and very determined.
"We have hundreds of officers and staff who have been working around the clock.
"Sarah’s disappearance in these awful and wicked circumstances is every family’s worst nightmare.”
She said the public “will want to know that it is thankfully incredibly rare for a woman to be abducted from our streets.”
Dame Cressida added: “But I completely understand that despite this, women in London and the wider public - particularly those in the area where Sarah went missing - will be worried and may well be feeling scared.
“You should expect to see continued high levels of police patrols in that area as well as very significant investigative activity.
“Please report any concerns you may have to us.
“We have been so impressed, and thankful for the public support for the investigation and for sharing our appeals for information and of course we are deeply grateful to the many people who have come forward to assist us.
“Again my thoughts are with Sarah, her family and her loved ones.”
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The Sun today revealed armed cop Wayne Couzens is in custody after Sarah disappeared on Wednesday last night - with the officer arrested at his Kent home late yesterday.
He was yesterday arrested on suspicion of kidnap, with police saying he was today further arrested on suspicion of murder and a separate allegation of indecent exposure.
His work saw him provide protection at major public events attended by senior members of the Royal Family.
PC Couzens is thought to have been a late entrant to the police, joining around 10 years ago after previously working at a family garage repairs business in Dover.
One ex-colleague of PC Couzens said: "It is truly shocking that he has been arrested over Sarah's disappearance."
Detectives investigating Sarah’s disappearance are also today carrying out a search of his locker at the police base in the Palace of Westminster where he worked.
Neighbour David Ladd, 48, said he saw Couzens bundled into a police car under arrest with handcuffs on last night.
He told The Sun: “He was escorted into the back of a police car.”
Following the arrest of the police officer, the Metropolitan Police has made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Cops are now standing guard at a Kent home with a forensic tent set up outside, with a car seized from the property.
Corrine Couzens, Wayne’s step-mother, told The Sun she couldn't comment but added: "I'm aware of what's happening."
Last night, Met Police and specialist teams began searching secluded wooded areas in Kent, along with a disused paintball centre and a golf driving range.
Specialist teams were seen combing through the area while police dogs were also brought in as part of the hunt.
Sarah was last seen on Wednesday night - seen on a doorbell camera on the Poynders Road section of the South Circular - about halfway between her friend's house and her own flat.
Detectives searching for the missing marketing executive earlier cordoned off a main road to search a housing complex close to where Sarah's phone last pinged.
Officers carried out fingertip searches, while divers and sniffer dogs checked ponds and drains in the area.
And police have appealed for motorists who may have driven near her route home to send in their dash-cam footage.
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Sarah’s parents left their York home at the weekend and drove to London to help the search for their daughter.
Her uncle Nick Everard also revealed the family are "absolutely distraught" and said they were "baffled" by the arrest.
He said: "We know they arrested an armed officer but we don't know him.
"It’s really shocked us all.
Nick added: “If someone is holding her against her will I would plead with them just to be human and to let her come home, to let her talk to us, give us a ring or text to let us know she is OK."
Sarah's boyfriend Josh Lowth, who spoke to Sarah on the phone for around 15 minutes before she vanished, had also appealed for information on Facebook.
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Alarmed women living in the area previously revealed police urged them to be vigilant after the mysterious disappearance.
One said cops knocked on her door last night and warned her "not to go out alone" as they desperately try to piece together what happened.
On Wednesday night, Sarah left a friend's house in Leathwaite Road in Clapham about 9pm.
She headed through a back gate onto the A205 South Circular before she is believed to have walked across Clapham Common.
She had spoken to her partner on the phone for about 15 minutes, and has not been heard from since that point, according to her friend Rose Woollard.
Sarah moved to the capital for work around 12 years ago and has a brother, James, and sister, Katie, who also live in London.
In a statement released over the weekend, her family said: "With every day that goes by we are getting more worried about Sarah."
Sarah’s sister, Katie, added on Facebook: “No words. Please share and contact me if you hear anything.”
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Sarah was last seen wearing a green rain jacket, navy blue trousers with a white diamond pattern and turquoise and orange trainers.
She was also thought to have been wearing green earphones and a white beanie hat.
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Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 3309/06MAR.
Information can also be provided anonymously by calling the Missing People charity on 116 000.
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Block of flats cordoned off in Clapham as search for Sarah Everard continues for sixth day
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