Murder arrest in hunt for missing Telford teenager Georgia Williams

The hunt for the 17-year-old policeman's daughter from Wellington took a dramatic turn when the man, originally arrested on suspicion of kidnap, was faced with the murder allegation.

The suspect, reported to be a Jamie Reynolds, from Wellington, was arrested in Glasgow but is being questioned in Telford.

Friends of Georgia today said they were not giving up hope that the former Ercall Wood student will be found alive.

"I believe in my heart she is still alive," said a close friend who set up facebook page Help Us Find Georgia Williams, which has attracted more than 5,000 likes.

"She's got to be – it's Georgia. The last thing I want to think is anything has happened to her," added the 17-year-old who did not wish to be named.

"I set up the page on Wednesday and had 1,000 likes within the first hour. It's so sad that I have to do this for my friend but we wanted the appeal to be seen by everyone not just people in the local area.

"But we are not giving up hope."

She described her friend as "beautiful inside and out".

Chay Davis, headteacher of Ercall Wood Technology College, said: "Georgia left Ercall Wood last summer. While she was a pupil here, she applied to be Head Girl and gave an outstanding interview for the post.

"Georgia enjoyed being at school very much and earned the respect of all the staff here. She was a great help to me during her time as Head Girl. Her duties included representing the school at public events, which she did with enthusiasm and maturity.

"Georgia brought a lot to the role, including plenty of energy. She was a real ambassador. We are devastated by the nature of the current investigations and we are hoping she will be found safe and well very soon. Our thoughts are with her family and friends."

Georgia, whose father Stephen is a constable for West Mercia Police, has not been seen since Sunday evening.

Police today cordoned off the entrance to Brown Moss nature reserve near Whitchurch, but refused to say whether the activity was in connection with the disappearance of Georgia.

Superintendent Nav Malik, from West Mercia said: "I would like to stress that Georgia Williams has still not been found and achieving that is still the primary focus of our investigation.

Therefore we still urgently want people to come forward and tell us if they have seen or had any contact with her since 7.30pm on Sunday when she left the family home.

"The arrest of the suspect for murder follows developments in the investigation since yesterday afternoon but I am not able to give any further details."

Georgia, who is white, 5ft 3ins, slim and with long, dyed, red hair, was last seen wearing a waist length black leather jacket over a white T-shirt which has a London bus motif on it. She was also wearing black, skinny jeans and flat, black suede slip-on shoes.

A team of more than 50 detectives is now involved in the investigation and forensics have searched the home of Mr Reynolds. Georgia's devastated family yesterday said she had never gone missing before and described her disappearance as "completely out of character".

Police have also appealed for information from anyone who may have seen a silver Toyota Hiace 300 GS panel van, registration CX06 ASV, which took a route from Wellington to Oswestry before moving on to Rhyl, Chester, Kendal in Cumbria and then Glasgow.

Call 0800 056 0944 or 0800 555 111.