If it’s not quite looking for a needle in a haystack, the force insists it’s devoting huge resources and elite detectives to finding one person in a city of more than 8 million, unsure whether a crime has been committed. Davies, 24, with a future seemingly full of promise, left her home in Grace, Essex, on July 4. Her mother says she was nicknamed “Princess” because she loved Disney. The Davis family is living through a nightmare and, in a land full of surveillance cameras, there is little sign of them. The Met’s search of 10,000 hours of footage produced images that place her in Croydon on July 7. She was seen walking with a man, in a shop and later on the street. Despite appeals, she has not been contacted by her family, missing persons charities or the police. Her mobile phone and bank cards have also been missing since she was last seen. Desperate mother Nicole has made appeals for her daughter to get in touch and fears for her safety have grown – as has the family’s anguish. Officers met her early in the police investigation, it has been revealed, but did not understand who she was. She was reported missing to Essex Police on July 6, the force confirmed, two days after Owami last left the family home. That evening, at around 11pm, Met officers went to a house in Clarendon Road, Croydon, 30 miles away, to investigate concerns for a woman’s welfare. A source said the woman only gave her first name as Owami and footage captured by officers’ body cameras showed her in distress. The officers offered to call an ambulance, but she refused. Crucially, the Met insists, she was not listed as missing or high risk at that stage and her details were not on the police’s national computer. Furthermore, as there was no criminal offence, the officers had no power to do anything else. A Met spokesman said: “The interaction captured on the officers’ body-worn video has been viewed by members of the Independent Advisory Group and Owami’s family to ensure openness and transparency. “At the time of the call, Owami was not flagged as missing in national police systems. She had been reported missing to her local forces earlier in the day. “As a result of the subsequent missing person investigation, it was later confirmed – on July 13 – that the woman the officers had spoken to was Owami.” Essex Police led the investigation until July 23 and insist they classed Davies as high risk, taking the case seriously. Concerns about the 24-year-old’s health left her vulnerable. The revelation that Met officers spoke to Davies is expected to be investigated by the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Policing Conduct, following a referral from the force. The IOPC is currently considering what action should be taken and the scope of any investigation. For the Met, beset by a collapse in public trust and problems with its services to women and ethnic minorities, claims that it has not taken the case seriously enough have been feared and dismissed. A Met spokesman said: “Our efforts to find Owami are being led by a team of detectives from the Met’s Special Crime Branch who are experts in complex investigations. They are supported by resources from local policing teams and are working day and night to pursue every possible line of inquiry. “As of Tuesday this week they had recovered 50,000 hours of CCTV and viewed 10,000 hours as they worked to confirm possible sightings and trace Owami’s movements. They are continuing to conduct additional patrols in the area where he was last seen in an effort to identify new drivers. Owami Davies was wearing a black hoodie, green or gray trousers and dark colored flip-flops when he was last seen. “Any suggestion that the investigation is not being taken seriously and that we are not fully committed to finding Owami is not only disappointing, but simply not supported by the facts.” Police have arrested and released five men, two on suspicion of murder and three on suspicion of kidnapping. The Guardian understands that detectives believe at least some of them were known to Davies before July 4. Missing person declarations are a difficult issue for the forces. They are time-consuming and often no crime has been committed – someone just wants to disappear. In the year to May 2022, the Met received 43,040 missing persons reports involving 21,072 people. Of these, approximately 5,000 reports were assessed as high risk. A police source said: “Even if you find them, it doesn’t mean you can drag them back. Disappearance is not a crime.” Detectives are none the wiser about Davies’ lack of contact with her family and failure to attend work. She was about to finish her studies, having secured a job at Guy’s and St Thomas’ health trust. She had worked in the accident and emergency department during the Covid crisis and was interested in studying infectious diseases, according to her family. Further appeals from the Met are expected this week, and for Davies’ family, the anguish continues.
Anyone with information can call police on 020 8721 4622 or to remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.
