Post by Taxigirl on Nov 14, 2003 10:44:53 GMT
Alicia Eborne was last seen a week ago, heading off to catch a bus
A 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of abducting the missing Devon teenager Alicia Eborne.
Alicia, 18, has not been seen since leaving her home in the hamlet of Corntown, near Plymouth, last Friday.
The man, from Plymouth, was arrested in the city just before 2300 GMT on Thursday.
He is being held at the city's Charles Cross police station.
More than 60 officers are continuing a search of the area on the edge of Dartmoor.
South and West Devon police commander, Chief Superintendent Liam McGrath, said: "We're obviously very concerned for Alicia and during the course of the day we will continue our search north of Plymouth.
"We're making a lot of enquiries into her last movements, given it is now a week since her disappearance.
"We've spent some time with her parents last night and we also have family liaison officers supporting them."
Police spokeswoman Pc Sharon Newman said: "We're keeping the family updated of any developments.
"We've still got officers in the Cornwood and Corntown areas to see if we can find anyone one who saw her after she left home.
Alicia had to walk half a mile from her home to a bus stop
"It's a case of jogging people's memories and finding people who use that route at the same time.
"We've had tremendous support from the local community."
Earlier, Alicia's worried parents, Anthony and Joan, appealed for her to get in touch.
"Alicia, please contact us just to let us know you are safe and well," they said.
"We love and miss you and want to know you're safe.
"None of us are angry with you, we just miss you and are very worried.
"Please, please just contact us so we know you're safe, we love you."
The teenager was last seen by her mother when she left home at about 0845 GMT on Friday to catch a bus into Plymouth.
Moor searched
Devon and Cornwall police described her disappearance as being "totally out of character".
Officers have already searched the Roborough and Bickleigh areas of Dartmoor.
They have also been searching along the seven-mile route from the bus stop in the nearby village of Cornwood into Plymouth.
Alicia, who studies health and education at Plymouth College of Further Education, lives at home with her parents and three brothers.
She did not turn up at her job in a Plymouth patisserie on Friday afternoon, did not collect her pay packet from work and has not touched her savings.
Her friends contacted the police that same evening when she failed to show up for a pre-planned night out in the city.
Police said Alicia would often text and call friends on her mobile, but her phone has not been used since her disappearance.