CCTV hope for Alice clues-Yorks officers join hunt

An ongoing search of scrubland along the towpath near the Grand Union Canal in west London where the 14-year-old was last seen will resume today, and police said CCTV is playing a “crucial role” in piecing together the last known movements of Alice, who has now been missing for five weeks.

And, along with more than a dozen police forces across the country - including officers from West Yorkshire - the RAF have also provided support with “aerial analysis” pinpointing places to focus the hunt.

Thirty detectives are painstakingly reviewing 35 terabytes of material from around 300 CCTV cameras covering a six-mile-square area.

Yellow ribbons can be spotted tied to railings and front doors in west London in a bid to jog people’s memory to help the search for the missing schoolgirl.

Runners taking part in the Ealing Half Marathon have also said they will wear the ribbons as they complete the route today.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We can confirm that as part of the search operation, the RAF has provided assistance in the form of aerial analysis to identify potential areas of interest to officers.

“This continues to be a massive investigation. A range of officers and staff from across the Met are taking part in the ever-expanding search for Alice.”

Alice was captured on CCTV walking along the towpath next to the canal as it passes under Trumpers Way at 4.26pm on August 28 but has not been seen since.

She could have taken one of several paths leading back towards her home in Hanwell.

Convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns, the prime suspect in her disappearance, who has also vanished, was filmed cycling the same route behind the teenager.

During the fresh appeals, Mr Mehta stressed that the Latvian, who was also accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl in 2009, was just “one line of inquiry”.