Missing nurse Owami Davies, 24, may still be riding trains, say police

Missing nurse Owami Davies, 24, could still be riding trains and tubes while dazed or confused, say police who have been searching for her for more than a month

• Owami Davies, 24, of Grays, Essex, was last seen in west Croydon on July 7
• Miss Davies, a student nurse, was said to be ‘vulnerable’ when she disappeared
• Six weeks after she vanished, police are still trying to trace her whereabouts 
• Five men were arrested and released under investigation as inquiry continues
• Her distraught mother Nicol is pleading for witnesses to help the investigation

Mystery surrounds the fate of a student nurse who vanished in south London more than a month ago – as police say it’s possible she could still be travelling regularly by train, appearing dazed or confused.

Owami Davies, 24, was last seen walking north along London Road in Croydon at about 12.30pm on July 7. 

Her distraught mother Nicol has previously pleaded for any witnesses to come forward and officers are growing increasingly concerned for Miss Davies’ safety.

On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police, who are investigating her disappearance as a missing persons case, said she could be ‘in the local area and in need of help’.

At the time she vanished, Miss Davies was described as ‘vulnerable’ and had been depressed. She had recently secured a job at St Thomas and St Guy’s Hospital upon her graduation. 

British Transport Police (BTP) have now issued their own appeal on Twitter, saying that Miss Davies may still be taking trains and seeking help from other female passengers.

Student nurse Owami Davies, 24, from Grays, Essex, was last seen on London Road in Croydon, South London on July 7 at around 12.30pm

The Kings College nursing student had secured a job at Guy’s and St Thomas’s health trust in London upon her graduation, but had fallen into a depression

Nicol Davies, 46, called on anyone who has any information about the whereabouts of her missing daughter to come forward. She said: ‘I sit here as a desperate mother at the mercy of anyone that knows or heard something to help me find my baby, that’s all I’m asking’

BTP tweeted: ‘We know Owami Davies, 24, regularly uses the rail and tube network to travel from Grays, Essex to the Croydon area. Often via West Ham and West Croydon stations. The Met Police UK are looking at dates from July 7 onwards.

‘Owami may still be regularly travelling by rail in a vulnerable state, appearing dazed or confused and possibly seeking to engage with other lone female travellers.

‘If you know where Owami is, ring the police.’

After numerous police appeals, members of the public have reported a number of potential sightings of Miss Davies in the Croydon area and police have been scouring CCTV trying to verify whether the sightings were actually her.

So far investigators have downloaded about 50,000 hours of CCTV and have viewed about 10,000 hours, the Met Police said on Tuesday.

Despite the case being treated as a missing person investigation, specialist crime officers are probing the disappearance.

Mystery continues to surround the sudden disappearance of Owami Davies, who has been missing for more than six weeks.

July 4: Owami leaves her family home in Grays, Essex, where she lives with her mother Nicol Davies, 46, and brothers

July 7: The student nurse is seen in the early hours walking along Derby Road, West Croydon, more than 28 miles away from her home 

July 7: An unconfirmed sighting was then reported to police close to nearby Clarendon Road at around 7am later the same day

July 7: CCTV footage is released by police showing Owami walking along London Road in Croydon, south London, towards the Norbury area at around 12.30pm.

She is seen wearing a dark jacket, red t-shirt, light grey joggers and slider type shoes. She also had a white handbag over her shoulder.

July 31: The Metropolitan Police first issued a public appeal for assistance in the search three weeks after Owami’s disappearance.

August 3: Detectives confirm three men from the Croydon area – 23, 27 and 32 – have been taken into custody over her disappearance.

August 3: The Met releases images of Owami on the night of July 7 inside a sham in Derby Road, Croydon.

The force also appeals to speak to the driver of a white van that was parked in the same road.

It is revealed that she was in the company of a man and crossed the road just as the van pulled out.

Officers begin speaking to the public and handing out appeal leaflets. 

August 4: Another arrest is made in connection with the disappearance, a 23-year-old man at an address in Croydon on suspicion of murder

August 5: Police issue another public appeal more than a month after she went missing from her family home.

Detectives say ‘they have a clearer idea of Owami’s movements’ after extensive CCTV enquiries

August 7: Another police appeal reveals an unconfirmed sighting reported at around 7am in Clarendon Road, West Croydon, on July 7.

A 27-year-old man is arrested on suspicion of kidnap, the fifth arrest. 

August 9: The Met continues to appeal for help from the public in its search after revealing that officers have ‘searched houses and parks, viewed hundreds of hours of CCTV and conducted extensive door-to-door enquires’.

August 10: Police release then new CCTV footage of Owami walking along London Road, Croydon, wearing ‘a distinctive red Adidas top’ 

August 16: Police say they have received reports of ‘someone of Owami’s description being seen in the Croydon area in the days after she was last seen’.

Five men have been arrested and released under investigation during the course of the investigation.

Two men, 27 and 23 from Croydon, were arrested on suspicion of murder earlier this month. 

A further three men – 23, 27 and 32 – were detained on suspicion of kidnap.

The men have been bailed until September, police say.

Owami is said to have been ‘really happy’ and had around two months left of studying her nursing course at Kings College.

She has secured a job at Guy’s and St Thomas’s health trust in London upon her graduation. The student had worked in A&E during the Covid pandemic and was interested in doing research on diseases.

Owami disappeared from the family home, where she lives with her mother and brothers, in Grays on July 4.

She was then seen in the early hours of July 7 as she walked along Derby Road, West Croydon – more than 28 miles away from her home. 

An unconfirmed sighting was then reported to police close to nearby Clarendon Road at around 7am later the same day.

The last confirmed was Owami walking along London Road in Croydon, towards the Norbury area at around 12.30pm on July 7.

But no further pictures or footage have been released in more than a month since that CCTV footage in Croydon. 

Owami has not contacted her family or turned up to work over the period of her disappearance.

Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney, who is leading the investigation, said yesterday: ‘The search to find Owami Davies continues, and we are conducting searches, appeals and extensive CCTV inquiries in order to trace and find her.

‘I would remind people that even though detectives from Specialist Crime are investigating, this remains a missing person enquiry.

‘We are obviously very concerned for the welfare of Owami and it is possible she is in the local area and in need of help.

‘We have reports of someone of Owami’s description being seen in the Croydon area in the days after she was last seen on CCTV and we sincerely hope to find her safe and well.’

Mr Penney has urged people to look at the pictures of the missing student to see if they remember seeing her in the area. 

Investigators previously appealed for the driver of a white van that was parked in Derby Road when Owami was last seen to come forward.

She and a man crossed the road just as the van pulled out.

And her mother, Nicol Davies, 46, has made repeated emotional appeals to help find her daughter.

She said: ‘It is obvious that someone out there has seen something, someone out there knows something, someone out there heard something.

‘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.

‘All we really want is to find her, all we really need is for her to come home or to know her whereabouts.’

She continued: ‘I sit here as a desperate mother at the mercy of anyone that knows or heard something to help me find my baby, that’s all I’m asking, just help to find her.

Owami Davies, 24, has been missing since she left her family home in Grays, Essex, on July 4 – more than six weeks ago

‘Or her, if she’s somewhere and hears this, to please come home. We miss her so much, her brothers and myself miss her, need her.

‘We are not complete, we just want her to come home and, again, if she is listening she should know she’s not in trouble.’

The Met’s Specialist Crime Command is leading the investigation into her disappearance, and has brought in support from the National Crime Agency.

Anyone with information can call police on 020 8721 4622, or to remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or online.

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