Timeline: How the disappearance of missing nurse Owami Davies has unfolded
Images of Owami Davies have been removed at the request of the Metropolitan Police
Student nurse Owami Davies has been found “safe and well” in Hampshire almost eight weeks after she went missing, the Metropolitan Police has said.
Ms Davies, 24, had been last seen walking north along London Road in Croydon on July 7 and concern grew for her safety.
But on Tuesday, DCI Nigel Penney from the force’s Specialist Crime Command said: “This is clearly the outcome we were hopeful for – the finding of the missing lady, Owami Davies.
“I’d like to say she has been found safe and well outside the London area in the county of Hampshire and she’s currently with specialist officers from my team.”
He added: “She looks in good health, she’s in a place of safety, and not currently in this vulnerable state that we were led to believe she was in at the start of her disappearance.”
The Met said Ms Davies had been found “as a result of a call to police from someone who had seen media appeals”.
They said the call was the 118th reported sighting officers had received and was made at 10.30 on Tuesday.
Here is a timeline of how the investigation following Davies' disappearance unfolded:
July 4: Ms Davies leaves her family home in Grays, Essex, telling her mother she is going to the gym.
July 6: Her family officially report her missing to Essex Police.
Separately, the Metropolitan Police are called to an address in Clarendon Road, Croydon, to concerns over the welfare of a woman. Officers attend, call the London Ambulance Service and speak to the woman.
She tells them she does not want help and leaves the address before the ambulance service can attend.
Ms Davies had not been marked as a missing person on the police database at this time and the Met only later establish the woman was the 24-year-old as a result of their missing person investigation.
July 7: Ms Davies is last seen just after midnight on Derby Road, West Croydon, in south London.
July 11: Essex Police make an investigative decision to issue a proactive media appeal.
July 16: The force releases a second appeal which it then shares on Facebook three days later.
July 23: The investigation is officially transferred from Essex Police to the Metropolitan Police after it becomes clear a significant number of inquiries to locate Ms Davies have been in London.
July 31: The Met Police issue their first appeal for information on her whereabouts – now three weeks after she went missing.
August 1: The force arrests two men, aged 23 and 27, in the Croydon area on suspicion of murder in relation to the investigation.
August 2: A third man, 32, is arrested on suspicion of murder at an address in South Croydon.
August 3: Ms Davies’ mother Nicol Davies appeals to the public, saying: “I am begging, I am asking for the public’s help, from the people, to say if you know, if you have heard or seen her, or she passed you, please speak up.”
Speaking at New Scotland Yard, she tells the PA news agency her daughter was “really happy”, had about two months left of her studies and had recently secured a job with Guy’s and St Thomas’.
On the same day, a 22-year-old man is arrested at an address in Croydon on suspicion of murder.
August 5: The Independent Office for Police Conduct receives a referral from the Metropolitan Police Service in relation to the contact officers had with Owami Davies in Croydon on July 6.
August 6: Police make a fifth arrest as they detain a 27-year-old man on suspicion of kidnap.
August 9: The Met Police issue an update on the investigation, saying officers have searched houses and parks, viewed hundreds of hours of CCTV and conducted extensive door-to-door inquiries.
The force also reveals the five men arrested during the course of the investigation have been released on bail.
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August 16: Scotland Yard issue a fresh appeal saying Ms Davies could be “in the local area and in need of help”.
August 18: British Transport Police (BTP) tweet the 24-year-old could still regularly be taking trains, may appear dazed or confused and may be seeking to engage with women travelling alone.
The Metropolitan Police say in a statement: “Owami has been depressed and in the absence of her medication may use alcohol to relieve her depression.”
August 20: The Met Police confirm to the media their officers came into contact with Ms Davies at the address in Clarendon Road, Croydon, on July 6.
The IOPC also confirms it has received a referral over the matter, is assessing the material and is considering whether further action is required.
August 22: In a briefing to journalists, detectives say Davies could be sleeping rough.
Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney said: “We’re open to all possibilities and that is one current working hypothesis, that she is in that current situation with her life.”
August 23: Student nurse Owami Davies is been found “safe and well” in Hampshire almost eight weeks after she went missing, the Metropolitan Police say.
The Met said Ms Davies had been found “as a result of a call to police from someone who had seen media appeals”.
They said the call was the 118th reported sighting officers had received and was made at 10.30 on Tuesday.