A Woman Vanished in London. Now a 'Deeply Disturbing' Arrest

A 33-year-old woman went missing on the way to her London home from her friend's house last Wednesday evening, and a Metropolitan Police officer has now been arrested in connection with the case. Sarah Everard was last seen on doorbell camera footage around 9:30pm on what would have been a 50-minute walk to her Brixton home. The BBC reports the search for the marketing executive has involved visits to more than 750 homes. Now, this development, involving an officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command who is in his 40s. That division safeguards diplomatic premises ranging from Downing Street to foreign embassies. More:

• The AP reports the officer was first arrested Tuesday on suspicion of kidnapping, and on Wednesday was "further arrested on suspicion of murder and a separate allegation of indecent exposure."

• The Guardian reports the arrest occurred in Kent while the officer was off-duty. A woman was with him at the time, and she was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
• The AP notes the officer was not on-duty at the time of Everard's disappearance. Police did not say whether the two were acquainted.
• Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave said gave a strong statement Tuesday: "The fact that the man who has been arrested is a serving Metropolitan Police officer is both shocking and deeply disturbing."
• The BBC's Katharine Carpenter provides analysis, noting that "it's unusual for such a senior officer to give a statement at this stage of an investigation and perhaps reflects the horror felt within the force—a profession where colleagues often describe themselves as family."
• Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin says the force is continuing to do "everything we can to find Sarah."
• Human remains were found in an area of Kent woodland during a search Wednesday, the Evening Standard reports. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said confirming the identity "may take some considerable time."

(More missing woman stories.)