'unbearable time'
Grace Millane family’s agony as cops find body in hunt for missing Brit backpacker, 22, and ‘Tinder date’ is charged over murder
THE body of missing British backpacker Grace Millane is believed to have been found by New Zealand cops.
Her desperate family had made emotional appeals to help find her, and cops said the end of the search was an "unbearable time" for them.
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Detective Inspector Scott Beard said the body was found off a countryside road outside the city, adding "our hearts go out to them [the family]."
Grace's brother, Declan, posted an emotional tribute to her this morning, writing the lyrics to You Are My Sunshine alongside pictures of them both.
Cops were already treating the 22-year-old's disappearance as murder - and today it was reported they have charged a 26-year-old Kiwi suspect, who will remain anonymous until he appears in court on Monday.
The body tragically was found hours after Grace's mum posted a picture of her and her daughter on Instagram, as the family hoped for good news.
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Her dad, millionaire property developer David, 60, had flown to New Zealand earlier in the week, where he made an emotional appeal for help.
Fighting back tears at a press conference, he asked for anyone with information, “any detail, no matter how small”, to come forward.
Mr Millane, from Wickford, Essex, said: “Grace is a lovely, outgoing, fun-loving, family-orientated daughter. Grace has never been out of contact for this amount of time.
“She’s usually in daily contact with either her mother, myself, her two brothers or members of the family on social media. We have been extremely concerned for her welfare.
“We are all extremely upset and it is very difficult at this time to fully describe the range of emotions we are all going through.”
But tragically, police said a body, found near a beauty spot on the outskirts of Auckland, is "believed to be Grace" but it has not yet been formally identified.
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The find was made 10m from the roadside on Scenic Drive, about 12 miles from the city centre.
Two large blue and white tents have been set up as investigators wearing white overalls comb the nearby area.
It is unclear if the man arrested has been formally charged by police or will be charged ahead of his court appearance on Monday.
Police quizzed Grace's suspected Tinder date over her disappearance after she was seen on CCTV going into a hotel with a man she met on the dating app on the night she vanished.
It was thought to be the last sighting of millionaire’s daughter Grace, who was on a gap year trip.
The spot where the body was found is near the Waitakere Reservoir and dam, a hiking hotspot.
Det Insp Beard also revealed investigators are analysing a hire car as part of the probe.
The red Toyota Corolla hatchback was hired from a central Auckland rental firm just before lunchtime on December 2, the day after Grace was last seen alive.
Cops have appealed for sightings of the car in the west Auckland area between 6.30am and 9.30am on Monday.
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At 4.15am on Saturday, police had announced "this is a homicide", later that morning adding they were set to charge a man with murder.
Police said family were "devastated" by the news.
Detective Inspector Scott Bread said yesterday: "Just after 3pm this afternoon a 26-year-old man was located at a central Auckland address by police.
"He was brought back to the Auckland Central Police Station and is currently speaking to us in relation to the murder of Grace Millane.
"Sadly the evidence we have gathered to this point of the inquiry has established that this is a homicide.
"Grace's family has been advised of this development and they are devastated. The man is still being spoken to at this point.
He added: "Obviously this means that we are treating Grace's disappearance as a homicide investigation."
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During the search for her detectives revealed several of Grace's possessions, including her passport, are missing.
They searched an apartment at the £130-a-night CityLife hotel, 300 yards from a hostel where she was booked to stay.
But officers initially said they had found no evidence of graduate Grace leaving the hotel and admitted “grave fears for her safety”.
Auckland City Police Detective Inspector Scott Beard said: "Detectives have assessed Grace's belongings that were found at the backpackers where she was staying.
"Several of her belongings, including her passport, are missing and police believe it is likely that Grace has these items with her."
Grace was last seen on Saturday night and was still booked into the £10-a-night Base Backpackers party hostel.
On the day of her disappearance she told pals at the hostel, “I’m going to see a friend”. She messaged others saying she was meeting a guy, her family said.
It was widely thought she had made a date on Tinder, although police have refused to confirm it.
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Before the CityLife Hotel footage emerged, the last confirmed sighting of Grace had been CCTV of her dressed for a night out as she left the Sky City casino complex at 7.15pm.
She was wearing a pink £5,000 prize draw wristband, suggesting she planned to return to the casino, just a few minutes from the hotel.
Police said they had a 20-strong team scouring CCTV for evidence she left the City Life Hotel.
Matt Searle, chief executive of the Lucie Blackman Trust, which is working with Grace’s family, confirmed police were exploring the possibility she met someone online.
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He said: “Speaking to the police in Auckland, it is an avenue they are looking at but we think the Tinder side of it is unsubstantiated.
“We have had literally hundreds of people telling us she’s on Tinder.
“We don’t know who this guy was or how she met him and everyone is keeping a very open mind as to how that came about.”
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