Police are today searching the rented home of a Polish butcher after arresting a 24-year-old man on suspicion of abducting missing Hull student Libby Squire.
Officers have sealed off the Hull property where Paweł Rełowicz lives with his wife Jagoda and their two children after towing away his silver Vauxhall Astra from the street outside at 10pm last night.
Relowicz, who according to his Facebook profile is a martial arts enthusiast, moved into the property with his family last year having moved to Hull from the York area.
Last night officers raided the house in Raglan Street and were seen taking away a 24-year-old suspect now arrested on suspicion of abduction.
Officers have also towed away a silver Vauxhall Astra and remain at his property this morning where they were taking photographs inside and forensics officers were taking fingerprints from the front door.
A witness to the arrest, who lives on the street, and watched out of the window, told MailOnline: ‘There were loads of police in the house and you could see the flash of cameras at they took pictures of the rooms. At around 10pm they took away the Vauxhall Astra on the back of a lorry. We’re all in shock’.
Police have raided the home of Polish butcher Pawel Relowicz (left) over the disappearance of Libby Squire, 21, (pictured left and right) in Hull a week ago
Officers have also towed away a silver Vauxhall Astra from the street outside the property where a man was held over Libby’s alleged abduction. Neighbours told MailOnline the car belongs to Relowicz
Police remain at the scene of the abduction arrest today as the investigation into Libby’s disappearance took a fresh twist
Teams of Humberside Police officers have been searching the student area of Hull where she lived including the Oak Road playing fields next to her house (pictured today)
A map showing where Miss Squire was last seen and where police have been carrying out searches and now an arrest
Jorge Ramos, 22, who lives next door to the raided property, said: ‘I think a family live there. I knew there had been searches around the university for Libby, but I never imagined that someone would be arrested on this street’.
Libby had been on a drunken night out with friends and returned to her student digs in a taxi at 11.30pm last Thursday after being turned away from a nightclub.
Instead of going inside, CCTV revealed that Libby went to sit on a bench around 300 yards away on Beverley Road. She was last seen on an adjacent street, Beresford Avenue, at just after midnight before disappearing and a near-neighbour of Libby’s said she woke up suddenly having heard ‘blood-curdling screams’ at around 12.30am.
It has also emerged today that a man in a balaclava was seen near Libby’s home.
A mother-of-two who lives on Raglan Street said the disappearance of Libby had ‘upset’ many people in the area.
Timeline: The week-long hunt for missing Libby
11pm Thursday, January 31: Libby is refused entry at Welly Club around two miles from her home and put into a taxi
11.30pm: Libby was dropped off on Wellesley Avenue – but does not go inside her house
11.45pm: Libby was seen sitting on a bench around the corner on Beverley Road. A witness says she was seen speaking to the driver of a car.
12.09am: Detectives believe Libby stayed in the area for about half an hour and was wandering the streets near her student digs.
12.30am, Friday February 1: A near-neighbour says she woke up after hearing ‘blood-curdling’ screams.
February 6: A 24-year-old man is arrested on suspicion of abduction and is ‘helping police with their enquiries’
She said: ‘It is just awful, you have to feel for the parents to be honest. We heard the noise of the lorry and didn’t think anything of it. Apart from the time of it, which I thought was a little bit strange.
‘Being a mum, as well, it has really upset me. After a week you feel it is not going to be a good outcome and you begin to wonder. Hopefully, though, it will bring some closure to her parents. It’s the not knowing. You fear the worst, but hope and pray for the best that she will be found.’
Police have named the suspect currently in custody.
A Humberside Police spokesman said: ‘The man remains in our custody, assisting us with our enquires. We have not yet found Libby and doing so remains our top priority.
‘Libby’s parents have been informed of the man’s arrest and we’re continuing to support them at this difficult time’.
Dozens of police officers have been searching for the 21-year-old philosophy undergraduate for the past six days without finding any clues.
A specialist police marine unit has thoroughly searched a large pond and waterway a few minutes’ walk from Miss Squire’s home in Hull.
And yesterday 20 officers scoured a wooded area near playing fields without success.
At least one known sex offender has been questioned and had his premises searched, and police have carried out searches at numerous properties in the area.
Humberside Police said today that the investigation is officially still a missing person inquiry – but concerns are growing with each passing day.
A neighbour who asked not to be named said yesterday: ‘If she had suffered an accident then you’d think she would have been found by now. It doesn’t look good.’
Sepcialist officers with sniffer dogs enter Libby’s student house in Hull – where she was dropped off after a night out
Officers were seen raking long grass in a wooded area in Oak Road Playing Fields in Hull, 500 yards from where the university student was last seen on CCTV
Police search the frozen Oak Road Pond in Hull but police have not found any trace of the missing student yet
Liberal Democrat city councillor Paul Drake-Davis added: ‘People are very concerned about it. Everyone is in a bit of shock and we are praying for good news.
‘This is generally regarded as a safe area. I know it’s a cliché but you don’t expect this sort of thing around here.
‘But as long as police say there is hope, we will keep that candle burning for her. It’s a desperately sad situation but we won’t give up hope just yet.’
A taxi dropped off Miss Squire outside her home in Wellesley Avenue at 11.29pm last Thursday.
Students who saw her said she was so drunk that she was ‘mumbling and struggling to walk’.
Instead of going inside, Miss Squire walked down the road and was seen on CCTV sitting on a bench on the main Beverley Road 300 yards away.
Police said she was in the area until 12.09am. There were reports of screams at around 12.30am.
Chief Superintendent Phil Ward said: ‘While the investigation has been treated as a missing person inquiry, we continue to keep an open mind as to the circumstances surrounding Libby’s disappearance. We must carry out a thorough investigation and explore all possibilities.’
Miss Squire’s parents, Lisa and Russell, have travelled to Hull from their home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and are anxiously awaiting developments.
They have walked the streets where their daughter was last seen.
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