JuicyLucy
Former Member
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Mainly because of this:
MK Citizen Monday 15 February 2021:
Police officers have spent hours talking to Leah's friends and minutely examining her texts and social media interactions with them. Equally they have scrutinised CCTV at every possible point on her two mile walk to work, from her house on Quantock Crescent, Emerson Valley to the DFC finance company's offices in Davy Avenue, Knowlhill, where she had an admin job.
Frustratingly there are large gaps in Leah's route where there was no CCTV two years ago. Police spent days door knocking houses on the route she could have taken. Many had security CCTV or doorbells that film people close to their houses - but none had detailed images of people walking past.
"You can see little black blobs - they could be anyone," says DCI Howard.
It seems they were primarily looking at Leah's walk to work and following the 'little black blobs' and maybe because of this focus they could well of overlooked other possibilities such as getting into a vehicle.
Also this:
MK Citizen Friday 22 February 2019:
Thames Valley Police Chief Inspector Neil Kentish said there have been two unconfirmed sightings of a female who "may be Leah" in the area of the Teardrop Lakes at approximately 8.45am on February 15, and that searches are being carried out.
"We would like to hear from anybody with CCTV or dash cam footage from Furzton, Emerson Valley, Shenley Lodge, Knowlhill and surrounding roads on Friday the 15th between 8am and 11am."
Why just the 3 hour time slot? As they had no idea what had happened to Leah that day surely they should have kept their options open and ask for footage from all of Friday not just the 3 hours they asked for. Did they check any petrol station footage from that day to see if Leah was in any vehicle that had pulled in for petrol or maybe even for food or drink?
I presume the 11.00 cut-off point came about because of the 3 witnesses who believed they saw Leah at Furzton Lake between 9.30 - 11.00 that morning. If the police did believe these sightings at the time then after the last sighting at around 11.00 what did they think had happened to Leah after this - did they consider that she might have been waiting for someone to arrive and pick her up in a vehicle, did it enter their line of thinking at the time?
Yes, I agree that closing the window of interest at 11am was a bit arbitrary and not very bright tbh.
As regards following her walking route only, I see where you're coming from, but I feel like the rationale is that up to the point where she got into a car, she would have been on foot. Even if her route deviated from her normal walking-to-work route, she would have been walking until she wasn't, so to speak. But without being able to trace the entirety of her walking route, there are limits to what can be deduced about where a car might have picked her up. I can't believe TVP didn't consider that as a possibility and try to pursue it though - jmo.
I agree the most likely scenario is that she got into a car though, and my opinion - fwiw - is that it's most likely to have been a prearranged meet, partly because I think someone would most likely have witnessed a struggle, even if they didn't understand what they'd seen at the time, and partly because of all the subterfuge with her phone the night before and the hotel earlier in the month. I am sure she was putting a plan into action that day.