Parents of missing University of Hull student Libby Squire ‘overwhelmed’ by support
The parents of missing student Libby Squire have thanked those involved in the search for their daughter, saying they have been “overwhelmed with people’s kindness and support”.
The 21-year-old was reported missing in Hull in the early hours of Friday.
Police have mounted an intensive search - now in its sixth day - to find the student.
Officers have released two new images of the missing woman in a bid for fresh leads on her disappearance.
On Wednesday, Ms Squire's parents Lisa and Russ issued a statement saying: “We’d like to thank everyone who has helped this week in trying to find Libby.
“We have been overwhelmed with people’s kindness and support and it’s been incredible how all her friends, students at the university, and members of the public have joined together to help us look for her.”
The message follows a statement by the couple earlier in the week, they appealed for information concerning the whereabouts of their daughter.
Humberside Police said Mr and Mrs Squire, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, had met with their daughter’s friends and staff from the University of Hull.
Ms Squire is also said to be close to her family and friends from primary school.
They said she moved to Hull in September 2017 to study philosophy and was “really happy,” at the university with a “lovely group of friends”.
The couple said: “Libby decided to come to the University of Hull when she fell in love with the city," adding that she accepted her place before even visiting the city as she was so sure she would be happy there.
Police say they have received hundreds of calls since Libby was first reported missing.
Officers have said that Ms Squire was dropped off in a taxi near her home on Wellesley Avenue at around 11.29pm on Thursday and was seen 10 minutes later on CCTV near a bench on Beverley Road, where a motorist stopped to offer her help.
She is believed to have been in this area until around 12.09am on Friday.
Marilyn Kingdom, a volunteer at the Newland Christian Centre, said she met Ms Squire’s parents when they dropped into the centre on Tuesday.
She said the family remain "strong," and gave search teams an "uplift," to continue hunting for the missing student.
On Tuesday, a woman who did not want to be named reported she heard a , told the Press Association on Wednesday that she had heard an "blood-curdling scream" outside her house at around 12.30am on Friday.
She said the nature of the scream she heard on Friday morning was unusual and sounded like a woman was “being harassed”.
The woman continued that the scream was followed by male voices and a banging sound.
The woman said she had spoken to police about what she had heard.
On Wednesday, a number of officers used sticks to look in the undergrowth on Oak Road Playing Fields and the Regional Marine Unit returned to search a pond nearby.
Police and Ms Squire’s family continue to urge anyone with information to come forward.