Man arrested in disappearance of 14-year-old British girl

USPA News - A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the disappearance of 14-year-old Alice Gross, who vanished in west London late last month and whose bag was discovered alongside a river earlier this week, British police said on Saturday. The girl`s fate remains unclear.

The 25-year-old man, whose identity was not immediately released, was arrested in the London Borough of Ealing at around 5 p.m. local time on Saturday. "He is arrested on suspicion of murder. The arrest follows information detectives received today," a Scotland Yard spokesperson said, declining to provide further details. The suspect remained in custody at a west London police station late on Saturday evening and it was still unclear what may have happened to the missing girl. There was no indication that a body had been found. "All lines of inquiry are still open at this time and this remains a missing person investigation at this stage," the spokesperson added. Alice, who had not been in good health recently, left her home in west London at 1 p.m. on August 28 and told her family that she would be home at around 10 p.m. that night, but never returned. She was seen on CCTV walking alone on the Grand Union Canal towpath at 2:23 p.m. and was later seen at the same point at 3:45 p.m., heading in the direction of her home. Alice`s backpack, which contained some of her personal belongings, was discovered near a towpath alongside the River Brent on Tuesday. The discovery, along with the CCTV images, prompted the Homicide and Major Crime Command (HMCC) to take over the investigation, with officials saying that they were considering the possibility that the teen may have become a victim of crime. "Her disappearance is out of character and this investigation continues to be a priority for us," Detective Chief Inspector Andy Chalmers said earlier this week, appealing for help from the public. "Our investigation has reached a point where we now know Alice was heading along the Grand Union Canal tow path in the direction of Hanwell and one would assume she was heading home."