Murder detectives have taken over the hunt for a 14-year-old girl who has been missing from her home in west London for a week. Local police have been investigating the case, but Scotland Yard announced the inquiry will be taken over by the Homicide and Major Crime Command (HMCC).
Alice Gross, a pupil at Brentside High School, left her home carrying only her mobile phone at about 1pm last Thursday, and told her parents she would be back later that evening. New CCTV images were released yesterday of the last known sighting of Alice as she walked alone along the Grand Union Canal towpath towards her home in Hanwell.
Her father Jose Gross, 60, and her mother Rosalind Hodgkiss, 50, have pleaded for her safe return. Ms Hodgkiss added: “We love her, we desperately miss her, we want to support her whatever is going on in her thoughts.”
Alice attended a songwriting workshop at the Camden Roundhouse between August 18 and 22. Officers are encouraging people she met there to come forward with information.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Chalmers, of the HMCC, said: “This is and continues to be treated as a missing persons inquiry and our involvement is due to the fact that we have a vulnerable missing young girl who needs to be located as a matter of priority.”
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Alice’s disappearance has inspired a massive social media campaign, including the hashtag #findAliceGross, retweeted by celebrities including Graham Norton, Jonathan Ross, James Arthur and Kym Marsh.
Alice, who is 5ft 2in, was last seen wearing dark blue jeans and a dark green lacy cardigan, and carrying a dark rucksack.
Anyone with information should call the Incident Room on 020 8358 0100 or Ealing Missing Persons Unit on 020 8246 1018 or 101.