Secrets of Megan’s 8 days on the run
We’re overjoyed to have her back
TEACHER Jeremy Forrest may have been planning to start a new life in France with schoolgirl Megan Stammers.
Hours after the pair were found ‘strolling hand in hand’ in Bordeaux, extraordinary details emerged of their eight days on the run.
French police believe they may have ‘dumped’ Forrest’s car in Paris before travelling 400 miles by train to the city in the south-west of the country.
Once there, they say married maths teacher Forrest was trying to find work as a barman before gendarmes and British police finally tracked the pair down. They were on their way to a job interview when they were apprehended in a city centre street.
Megan was left in floods of tears after gendarmes swooped in the busy shopping area at lunchtime yesterday to arrest Forrest, 30, on suspicion of child abduction.
She was taken into protective custody as her overjoyed family – who have now spoken to Megan by telephone – prepared for an emotional reunion. The 15year-old’s stepfather Martin Stammers said he was ‘over the moon’.
‘I’m thrilled and overjoyed. The most amazing thing is the joy I feel in here,’ he added, pointing to his heart. ‘You can’t describe the feeling.’
Megan and Forrest sparked an international manhunt after boarding a cross-
‘He was applying for bar jobs’
Channel ferry last Thursday, 24 hours after the teacher was told he was due to be suspended.
Staff at the Bishop Bell C of E School in Eastbourne, East Sussex are believed to have alerted British police to their concerns about the relationship between teacher and pupil.
Despite this, the pair were able to travel to France, and until yesterday the last confirmed sighting was CCTV footage of them arm-in-arm on the ferry.
French police piecing together their journey believe they then drove south from Calais and spent ‘a long stopover in Paris’.
Their black Ford Fiesta has been found abandoned in the French capital, where they are believed to have been spotted by a British tourist last Sunday.
A French police source said: ‘ They dumped their car close to a mainline station and headed for Bordeaux – clearly they knew the authorities were on to them.
‘ They thought they could blend into day-to-day life in Bordeaux, with reports that Forrest had been applying for bar jobs as recently as last night.’
The pair had been in the city – a popular destination with British tourists, with UK newspapers widely available – since at least Wednesday when a witness contacted police to say they had been spotted, according to the local public prosecutor, Agnes Aubouin.
Forrest, from Ringmer, near Lewes, was due before a judge at a private hearing in Bordeaux last night to be formally served with a European arrest warrant and remanded in custody.
He will appear at a public hearing in Bordeaux’s Court of Appeal on Tuesday and his fasttrack extradition back to the UK is expected within days.
According to legal sources in Bordeaux, Megan was staying at the British consulate in the city before returning home late last night or today. Teacher and pupil were finally found after both sets of parents made emotional televised appeals begging them to make contact and return home.
There had been two possible sightings in Bordeaux but the breakthrough came on Thursday afternoon, with a third ‘positive’ sighting by a member of the public who had seen Forrest’s photograph on television and recognised him.
In a joint operation between French police and officers from Sussex, who were already in France, the pair were found wandering through the centre of Bordeaux’s main shopping area.
They were stopped by police at 12.20pm UK time in the Rue Sainte-Catherine and were split up from each other.
A Bordeaux police spokesman said: ‘ They were spotted in a street in the city centre. A member of the public alerted us after recognising them from the media.
‘Megan is safe and well and under police protection. Forrest is being held in Bordeaux’s main police station on suspicion of child abduction.’
Forrest was made a ‘ garde a vu’ – a French legal expression
‘She was taken away in tears’
which effectively means that a suspect in custody and facing charges.
A French police source said: ‘She is on the surface safe and well. Megan was in tears when she was taken away from the arrested man by women police officers. She will remain in the care of the authorities. She will soon be returned to her family in Britain.’
Friends and neighbours of the family expressed their relief at the news last night. Neighbour Kersti Barnes, 37, said: ‘When I found out Megan was missing I was devastated.
‘It’s just absolutely fantastic that she’s back and thank God nothing happened to her other than that she was with somebody else.
‘At the end of the day it could have been worse. I’m just absolutely elated for her parents’ sake because they are absolutely amazing people.’
Neighbour Kerry Davies, 40, said: ‘We are just glad that she’s safe and well.’
Neighbour Rick Smith, 26, added: ‘It’s good news. I always hoped she was safe, I didn’t imagine she would be in any trouble.’
MEGAN Stammers’ family last night said they were ‘over the moon’ and couldn’t wait to be reunited with the 15-year-old.
Her stepfather Martin said: ‘I’d like to say that her mother Danielle and I are so relieved that Megan has been found safe and well.
‘We just can’t wait to be reunited with her. Our family are overjoyed at the outcome. As you can imagine it’s been an absolute emotional rollercoaster.’
Megan’s 17- year- old sister Brooke tweeted: ‘Absolutely on top of the world right now to know our Megan is safe and sound! Love you so much.’
Yesterday, as news broke that she had been discovered in France, Mr Stammers told reporters: ‘The relief, the outpouring of love from everyone, has just been amazing. We’re so happy.
‘As time goes on, you despair even more, but knowing Megan, knowing the girl she is, I always had that belief that she was strong enough within herself to remain safe and well.’
The teenager has already spoken to her family and she was expected to be reunited with them late last night or today.
Mr Stammers also thanked the police, the media and supporters who had used Twitter and Facebook to publicise the case.
He said: ‘I just can’t put it into words how grateful we are as a family.
‘I’m just happy. I just know in my heart that she’s safe and well and she will be back with us very soon. We have our daughter back, it’s just such joy.’
When asked if he had started to lose hope that Megan would return home safely, he said: ‘I know Megan, she’s a very mature girl and I knew she would be OK.’
The schoolgirl’s biological father, Barry Wratten, added: ‘The past week has been absolutely terrible. You don’t want to say it, but sometimes you think the worst.
‘So this is wonderful news. It’s brilliant. I can’t say how relieved I am. I just want her back in the UK now with her family.’
Forrest’s parents Jim and Julie Forrest said they were ‘ delighted’ their son had been found. In a statement, they added: ‘We are pleased that Megan and Jeremy have been found safe and well. This has been an ordeal for all the families concerned.
‘We would like to thank Sussex and the French police as well as the British media for their assistance.
‘We are relieved that the search is finally over and everyone can now focus on a safe and secure return for them both.’