Hundreds join the search for missing Libby
POLICE were joined by hundreds of volunteers yesterday as the search for missing student Libby Squire intensified.
Appeals for her safe return were circulated online and a fundraising page set up to help her parents raise thousands.
The 21-year-old, who attends Hull University, was reported missing more than a week ago, leading to an intensive search of the area by Humberside Police.
Locals claimed they heard “screams” around the time Miss Squire went missing but assumed it was students returning home from a night out in the city.
The mother of a Polish butcher arrested in connection with Miss Squire’s disappearance said she “would rather die” than know her son was guilty.
Pawel Relowicz, 24, was still being questioned by police last night after a man was seen offering Miss Squire a lift home.
The father-of-two was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of abducting the student and detectives have since requested more time to question him.
Mr Relowicz has been described as a “family man” by his mother, Marzena Relowicz.
Speaking from her home in Poland on Friday, the devout Catholic said: “Everyone has a weak side, there is no such thing as an ideal person.
“He is a good boy who respects women and would not do anything to harm anyone.
“I desperately hope they find her alive. My heart is breaking over this.
“I feel so sad for the girl’s parents and what they are going through. I can’t imagine their pain.”
The tearful mother added: “It does not sound like him to be involved in anything bad. I didn’t like Hull.”
The butcher was arrested at a house on Raglan Street, about halfa-mile from Miss Squire’s home.
Two police cars remained parked in the street yesterday while officers continued to search nearby roads. Police could be seen using sticks and cameras in the back gardens of homes backing on to the Oak Road playing fields.
As the search for Miss Squire entered the ninth day, digital posters could be seen dotted around the city centre.
Police are continuing to examine CCTV footage that may show Miss Squire getting in to a car just yards from where she was last seen.
Cameras captured a driver rolling a cigarette in his car, around the same time that Miss Squire was seen sitting on a bench. Several minutes later, the driver left the car and returned with what appeared to be another person.
Police are hoping the video can help shed some light on what happened to Miss Squire, who disappeared during a night of bad weather.
Det Supt Matt Hutchinson said: “There have been hundreds of hours of CCTV footage viewed as part of our investigation.
“There are various lines of inquiry we have investigated and are following up in connection to CCTV footage.”
Detectives were granted a further 24 hours to question Mr Relowicz last night as forensics officers examined his car.
Miss Squire was spotted getting into a taxi in Hull at around 11pm on Thursday after she was refused entry to the Welly Club.
She was dropped off outside her student digs at 11.29pm and CCTV captured her sitting on a bench about 300 yards away.
The philosophy student was last seen in the area at 12.09am.
In a statement, Humberside Police said it is “still very much treating her disappearance as a missing person’s inquiry”.
A JustGiving page for Miss Squire’s parents, who live in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, has raised more than £3,000.