Five clues that could help solve mystery of missing student Libby Squire, 21, who vanished on night out
FIVE days ago, 21-year-old Libby Squire vanished without trace.
Dropped just yards from her front door after a “drunken” night out, the Hull university student staggered away from her home – and hasn't been seen since.
Despite neighbours claiming to hear "blood-curdling screams" and CCTV of her just 30 minutes before she vanished, cops are no closer to finding the young woman.
Frantic with worry, her parents Lisa and Russell Squire yesterday gave a desperate tearful TV appeal - sobbing as they begged their "beautiful girl" to get in touch.
At the same time, just half a mile from her student university digs in Hull, police divers trawled Oak Road Pond.
Humberside cops have not revealed whether they believe missing Libby is alive or dead - only confirming they must "explore all possibilities."
But they have vowed to leave "no stone unturned" in their search, scouring rivers, drains and even wheelie bins for clues.
So far, we know that philosophy student Libby had been drinking heavily the night she disappeared. She was turned away from the Welly Club in Hull City centre and put in a taxi home about 11pm.
She was later got home at about 11.29pm but didn't go inside - later seen staggering outside her university flats about 11.45pm before disappearing without a trace.
Now as the hunt for Libby edges ever closer to a week, we examine the five questions left to be answered - and which could hold the key to Libby's whereabouts.
THE LAST SIGHTINGS OF LIBBY
11pm Thursday January 31: Libby is refused entry at Welly Club, Beverley Road, 4kms from her home. The student was put into a taxi home.
11.30pm: Libby was seen staggering around outside her student digs on Wellesley Ave
11.45pm: CCTV captures Libby sitting on a bench on Beverley Road, close to the junction of Haworth Street.
She was also helped by a motorist
12.09am: Police beliee Libby stayed in the area for about half an hour
12.30am: A neighbour hears 'blood-curdling' screams
January 3 midday: Forensic officers find screwdriver, claw hammer and lip gloss 40 yards from where Libby was last seen
'BLOOD-CURDLING SCREAMS' HEARD
Just minutes after Libby was last seen on CCTV footage, neighbours claim to have heard a "blood-curdling" scream near her home.
The cries, at 12.30am on Friday, were so terrifying they made the female neighbour sit up in bed and say: “Oh my God.”
She said: “We get a lot of students who use this road as a cut-through. They go past shouting and singing. It’s not unusual.
“But this made us sit up. It sounded like someone being attacked, it was blood-curdling.
“It was just one female scream. I was in bed reading and it made me sit up and go, ‘Oh my God.’
“Then we heard other voices muttering and then more screams. Then we heard the slamming of a wooden door or gate.”
Confused over what night Libby went missing, the couple did not mention it to cops when they first came knocking.
The pair, who did not want to be named, eventually contacted cops on 101 two days later - losing detectives precious hours to investigate the lead.
LIP GLOSS AND SCREWDRIVER FOUND
Officers scouring the area around Libby's university flats were quick to leap on a screwdriver, claw hammer and lip gloss found in the grass nearby.
The items, found just 40 yards from where the 21-year-old was last seen, were a promising lead after being dug up by a forensic officer on Sunday.
The tools and makeup were found in bushes opposite the bench Libby was last seen on, quickly sealed in evidence bags and taken away.
It was hoped the lip gloss may have been Libby's, or the tools clues as to her whereabouts.
But after examining the items, police were forced to rule them out as a potential lead in the hunt for Libby.
Speaking on Monday, Chief Superintendent Phil Ward said: "Tools and a lip gloss were recovered yesterday in the area Libby was last seen.
"These items are not connected to this investigation and at this time there isn’t any link."
THE LAST PEOPLE TO SEE HER
A mystery man was seen helping Libby in the street just before she vanished.
The motorist, described as having "grey hair and a beard", was seen helping the 21-year-old after witnesses claimed she was "falling over drunk" as she disappeared.
Two of the last people to see Libby said the young woman had been uneasy on her feet, "mumbling incomprehensibly" and fell over two or three times,
Tom Tully, 20, said: "On the night of her disappearance we were going to the Welly too. It was below 0C. The taxi dropped her off. She got out and was walking down the street. She fell over a couple of times. She dressed all in black.
“We asked her if she was all right and she mumbled something incomprehensible. Libby started walking away from her front door.
“She was stumbling and fell over. We were going to help but the taxi driver got out and helped her up."
She was later seen by a motorist on Beverley Road near the junction with Beresford Avenue around 11.45pm.
But after a police appeal, detectives revealed the man had got in touch.
Humberside Police tweeted: "The witness who we asked to get in touch with us earlier has done and has really helped out."
Cops said that since Libby's disappearance, they had received "hundreds" of calls from the public, saying house to house enquiries were also continuing.
WHY DIDN'T SHE HAVE HER PHONE?
Any millennial is sure to keep their phone with them at all times.
However, police revealed they had found the young woman's phone after searching her Wellesley Avenue student accommodation.
Cops scoured the phone for any telling last text or photo - any clue as to where Libby may have gone.
Libby, originally from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, was sure to have given a hint as to her movements.
But speaking on Monday, Chief Superintendent Phil Ward said detectives' hopes had been dashed.
He confirmed: "On searching the address, we did discover her mobile phone which despite analysis, has not provided any further insight as to where she may be or her movements that night."
WHERE DID SHE GO? THE LAST CCTV
The last CCTV sighting of Libby reveals the young woman was sitting on a bench just 100 yards from her home about 11.45pm.
It is now believed the 21-year-old stayed around the area until 12.09am.
Cops are holding out hope more CCTV footage could be the key to tracking the young woman's movements.
Chief Superintendent Phil Ward said: "(We) are now continuing searches in and around the neighbouring roads and streets as well as viewing further CCTV footage.
"While her location is not yet known, this does not mean she has come to harm, but we must carry out a thorough investigation and explore all possibilities."
Mum Lisa today shared a heartrenching post begging for information, writing on Facebook: "Our heart felt thanks to everyone for their continued love and support.
"If love alone could bring our Libby Pie back she would be sat cuddling with us now xxxx".
MOST READ IN NEWS
Hundreds of members of the public, students and University of Hull staff have turned out to help cops to find Libby.
But for now, cops are yet to have an answer.
Anyone with information should contact Humberside police on 101, quoting log number 29 of 1 February 2019.
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