Libby Squire detectives given more time to quiz Polish butcher over missing student’s disappearance
POLICE have been granted yet more time to quiz the Polish butcher arrested over the disappearance of student Libby Squire.
Humberside Police will continue to quiz Pawel Relowicz over the 21-year-old's disappearance after a night out in Hull.
The extension comes after cops searched the road of the butcher in a bid to find clues which could lead to finding the Hull University undergraduate
Police had previously been granted a 36-hour extension following his arrest on Thursday.
Detective Superintendent Mathew Hutchinson said: “I can confirm that the court has granted us a further 24 hours to question the man.
“We are still treating Libby’s disappearance as a missing person’s enquiry. I have said previously that we are keeping an open mind as to her whereabouts and that is still very much the case.
“Our number one priority is to find Libby Squire and we are still conducting extensive searches and appealing for any information from the public.”
SEARCH FOR CLUES
Earlier this morning, two police cars were parked on Raglan Street while officers were pictured using sticks and cameras to search gardens of houses in the area.
Some of the gardens backed on to Oak Road Playing Fields – the area which has been the focus of the search for Libby who vanished on January 31.
Students in the area have described the case as “surreal and scary”.
Fellow Hull University students have set up a page to help her parents financially during the distressing investigation.
Our number one priority is to find Libby Squire
Craig Hopkins, 44, told : “They must be going through such a terrible ordeal and this is such a challenging time, so it would be great if we could ease at least one pressure on the family.”
He added: “I am a mature student at the University of Hull, and although I don't know Libby, it's like we're all searching for a member of the university family.”
The crowdfunding campaign has so far raised more than £3,500.
Libby vanished after a night out with pals on Thursday January 31.
They were turned away from a club because she was too drunk.
Pals put her in a taxi to take her home and she was dropped off near her digs at around 11.30pm.
She was seen staggering in the street then sat on the bench a short time later. Police said the last time they can be sure she was in that area was 12.09am.
Cops swooped on the home that meat factory worker Relowicz shares with wife Jagoda and their two kids at 9pm on Wednesday.
Libby’s mum and dad, Lisa, 48, and Russ, 53, have travelled to Hull from their home in High Wycombe, Bucks.
Meanwhile, CCTV images emerged on Friday which are feared to be the last sighting of Libby - showing her getting in a car with a man before he drives off.
SUSPECT ARRESTED
Cops have been poring over an eight-minute video taken from a yard near a park bench where the missing student was last seen.
The footage, taken on Haworth Street in Hull, shows the male driver rolling a cigarette before helping a passenger -who police believe is second-year university student Libby - into a silver hatchback.
The man then walks around to the driver's side, gets in and drives off at 12.09am.
A second film, obtained by The Sun from a shopkeeper, shows a similar car being driven along Newland Avenue, half a mile away, 10 minutes later, at 12.19am.
It shows a police car patrolling the same road 60 seconds before.
Cops yesterday quizzed Relowiczover the two pieces of footage after they were granted a 36-hour extension to quiz him on abduction claims.
Detectives will want to investigate whether the car in the footage is the Vauxhall Astra seized from the suspect.
They obtained the CCTV last Sunday but kept it under wraps as they frantically pieced together the car’s movements before and after Libby disappeared.
The Sun was aware of the crucial development before the arrest but agreed not to publish details.
Shop owner and dad-of-two Mohammed Burhan, 66, told how his cameras picked up a car driving along Newlands Avenue the night Libby vanished.
He told The Sun: “The police have been into all of the shops along here asking for CCTV footage over a particular timeframe.
“They came into my shop and have taken the video from three of my cameras.
“I hope my CCTV can in some way help the police find Libby and discover what has happened.”
Libby was seen on the bench close to her home on Wellesley Avenue at 11.45pm last Thursday.
The Haworth Street footage was captured by cameras overlooking steel gates to an electrical firm.
Staff checked it after Libby was reported missing and alerted cops.
But workers there are fuming detectives took so long to reveal it.
One said: “We couldn’t understand why it wasn’t published straight away by the police.
“If it was my daughter I would have it everywhere.
“Surely they have had enough time to examine it, obtain the licence plate and do checks to find out where it went.
MOST READ IN NEWS
"Time is of the essence. They always talk about the golden hour in investigations. They’ve had nearly a week.”
Senior cops insist they are still treating Libby's disappearance as a missing persons inquiry.
Det Supt Matt Hutchinson on Thursday confirmed police had been given extra time to quiz Relowicz.
He said officers have viewed 100s of hours of CCTV footage.
One line of inquiry is the possibility Relowicz was moonlighting as an unlicensed taxi driver.
Lib Dem councillor Paul Drake-Davis said: “As long as police say there is hope we will keep that candle burning for Libby.”
Detectives returned to the street yesterday to quiz neighbours again. A source said: “All residents were given a form with seven questions to complete. It asked where they were the night she went missing, if they know her, had they seen suspicious activity in the street before the arrest and had they noticed the car.
“It also asked if they knew anyone who lives at number 24 (Relowicz’s home).”
Chilling film by roadside
CCTV film captures a woman believed to be Libby Squire getting into a car — before being driven out of view.
Footage taken just after midnight last Friday shows the vehicle already parked on Haworth Street in Hull.
The driver returns at 12.02am, unlocks it and then sits facing out with the driver’s door open.
He appears to roll a cigarette or type into a phone.
A cyclist rides past and is followed seconds later by a car.
After sitting for nearly three minutes the man stands up and walks away, locking the car.
At 12.09am the passenger side door is opened and a person believed to be Libby gets in.
The man walks round the back of the car before getting into the driver’s seat and setting off.
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