Father’s tears over missing backpacker
SEARCH FOR GRACE, 22, IN NZ
THE father of a British backpacker missing in New Zealand has flown to the other side of the world to make a tearful plea for information about her disappearance.
David Millane said his family were concerned for the welfare of his “fun-loving” daughter Grace Millane, who turned 22 on Sunday, following her disappearance nearly a week ago.
The tourist, from Essex, was on a roundthe-world trip and had been “bombarding” her loved ones with messages and pictures from her adventure. But they became concerned when contact with Ms Millane went cold. She was last seen in Auckland at 9.41pm at the Citylife Hotel on December 1 with a “male companion”. During an emotional press conference in Auckland, Mr Millane said: “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 on social media.” Detective Inspector Scott Beard, of Auckland City Police, said officers had identified and spoken to the “male companion” last seen with Ms Millane. Mr Beard said officers had also identified an apartment at the hotel as a location of interest.