Police have begun a kidnap investigation after a 13-year-old girl from Yorkshire disappeared following a house party in London.
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of kidnap as officers from the Metropolitan Police work “around the clock” to find Carmelle Hepi, from Barnsley. The teenager was reported missing by her family in the early hours of Sunday.
Investigators said she had travelled by train from Barnsley to London St Pancras a day earlier, where she arrived shortly after 6pm.
Police believe she went to a birthday party involving a small group of teenagers in Watling Street in Peckham, south-east London, on Sunday night.
She is understood to have left the party in a car with another group of people at about 11pm on Sunday, and also visited properties in Croydon, Lewisham and Purfleet in Essex.
Officers believe Carmelle “may now be in the company of an older male”, but their location is unknown.
The Met said three men, who are in their 20s, remain in custody. It added that officers had spoken to people who were at the party and that “there is no information at this time to suggest that Carmelle has come to serious harm”.
However, the Met said detectives from specialist crime were leading the investigation due to the missing girl’s “age, vulnerabilities, and concerns around who she may be associating with”.
On Wednesday, police released an image of Carmelle, which is believed to have been taken in a car in the Peckham area on Sunday. CCTV footage also shows the teenager, wearing a pink and white jacket, entering a Primark store in High Street, Croydon.
The Met’s Det Ch Insp Chris Wood said: “Carmelle, I want you to know that you are not in any trouble whatsoever. Our one and only focus is making sure that you are safe and well. Please call 999 and speak to us, or go to a police station, and we will get you back home safely.
“Your family are desperately worried about you, and while we’re supporting them as best we can, they need to know that you’re OK and to come home. They cannot rest until you’re back with them.”
DCI Wood said his team was “working round the clock” to find Carmelle along with officers from South Yorkshire Police. A number of properties have been searched in a bid to trace the teenager, he added.
Wood went on: “If you have seen Carmelle, or you know her and have information about where she is or has been, it is imperative that you contact us. It doesn’t matter if you’re a friend who has heard or seen something in passing – you won’t be in trouble.
“What matters is that you contact us, as you could have significant information to help us find a missing teenage girl.”
