A £50,000 reward is being offered to anyone with information on the whereabouts of the body of a mother who went missing in 2019.
Hadir Al Enezi, originally from Kuwait, arrived in the UK with her daughter on 7 November 2018, seeking refuge. She found support from relatives living in Rusholme, according to Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
After she was reported as missing, detectives started an investigation in 2019.
GMP’s Major Incident Team is currently operating under the assumption she was a victim of deliberate harm, following a targeted attack, likely due to her association with the Bidoon Arab minority.
Detective Chief Inspector Liz Hopkinson, who leads GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “Our plea to locate Hadir Al Enezi is being renewed. It’s crucial that we uncover the truth surrounding her disappearance.”
“Throughout our relentless investigative efforts, we’ve been unable to establish any evidence supporting Hadir’s continued existence. Regrettably, our approach is to proceed with the assumption that she has suffered severe harm and is no longer alive.”
“Our paramount objective is to provide answers for Hadir’s young daughter. We implore anyone who possesses information about her location to come forward to the police. By doing so, we can provide the much-needed answers to her daughter.”
“The search for Hadir’s remains persists. If you possess any relevant information, we urge you to urgently share it with GMP. This information could hold the key to delivering closure for her daughter.”
DCI Hopkinson emphasised that the investigation is ongoing, adding that such cases remain open and unresolved.
Read more on Sky News: Man charged with murder after body found by police responding to dog theft Body found in search for missing 54-year-old woman in Kent
To facilitate potential leads, a Major Incident Public Portal has been set up so members of the public can provide information, images, or video footage that could contribute to the ongoing enquiries.
Hikers have found human remains in a California mountain area where British actor Julian Sands went missing five months ago, authorities have said.
The remains were discovered on Saturday morning near Mount Baldy in Southern California, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
They have been taken to the coroner’s office for identification which is expected to be completed next week, the department added.
Sands, a keen hiker and mountaineer, was reported missing on 13 January after he failed to return from a hike in the Mount Baldy area.
The 65-year-old Yorkshire-born actor is known for his roles in films A Room With A View, Leaving Las Vegas and Warlock, as well as TV appearances on 24, Smallville and Banshee.
Earlier this week, his family released a statement saying they were continuing to keep him “in our hearts with bright memories”.
“We are deeply grateful to the search teams and co-ordinators who have worked tirelessly to find Julian,” the family statement, issued by the sheriff’s department, read.
“We continue to hold Julian in our hearts with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer.”
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s department previously said its goal was “to bring closure” to the family.
Eight searches by ground and air have taken place for Sands since his disappearance but they have been hampered by poor conditions in the area and were halted in March due to the risk of avalanches.
A search on 17 June had included over 80 search and rescue volunteers, deputies, and staff, with their efforts supported by two helicopters, and drone crews.
“Despite the recent warmer weather, portions of the mountain remain inaccessible due to extreme alpine conditions,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement at the time.
“Multiple areas include steep terrain and ravines, which still have 10-plus feet of ice and snow.”
The head of Scotland’s prosecution service has refused to say whether a search warrant for Nicola’s Sturgeon’s home was “deliberately delayed” until after the SNP leadership contest ended.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC, who leads the Crown Office, was questioned by Sky News after it emerged her organisation was made aware of a police request to raid the former first minister’s home two weeks before it was given the green light.
The SNP‘s headquarters in Edinburgh was also raided by detectives.
According to a Freedom of Information request first published in The Sun newspaper, Police Scotland asked prosecutors to sign off the warrants on 20 March – which was one week before Humza Yousaf became SNP leader.
The go-ahead was not officially given until 3 April.
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2:32
Search on Sturgeon’s home ends
The Lord Advocate is the most senior law officer in Scotland and sits in the Scottish government cabinet as chief legal adviser.
Sky News approached Ms Bain as she departed Tuesday morning’s cabinet with First Minister Humza Yousaf.
She did not reply when asked if the Crown Office “deliberately” delayed issuing warrants until after the SNP contest and entered her car when asked if she personally was aware of developments in the case.
The Crown Office said it received a “draft warrant” before it was “finalised” on 3 April.
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “COPFS understand the interest in this case but to protect the fair administration of justice we urge restraint in public comment.
“It is standard that any case regarding politicians is dealt with by prosecutors without the involvement of the Lord Advocate or Solicitor General.
“COPFS will continue to work with police on this ongoing investigation.”
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I had ‘no prior knowledge’ of raid
‘Revelation will raise eyebrows across Scotland’
Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay said: “There appears to be no evidence of any undue influence or interference in this process.
“However, the lack of answers to these questions only serves to fuel public concerns about the decision-making taking place behind closed doors.
“The whole murky saga brings into sharp focus the untenable dual role of the Lord Advocate, both as head of the prosecution service and the Scottish government’s most senior lawyer with a place at the cabinet table.”
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “This is a very interesting revelation that will lead to raised eyebrows across Scotland.
“Whilst I accept that the Lord Advocate may not have had a direct influence on the timing, this story underlines why we need to have a serious discussion in Scotland about separating the role of the Lord Advocate to ensure that there is no perception of conflict of interest can ever occur.”
Image: Ms Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, former chief executive of the SNP
Read more: Scottish Tory leader condemns SNP ‘secrecy, spin and cover-ups’ Nicola Sturgeon says SNP crisis is beyond her ‘worst nightmares’ Who is at the centre of the police probe into the SNP?
Long-standing SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was arrested and later released without charge pending further investigations amid the probe.
A £100,000 luxury motorhome was removed from the home of Mr Murrell’s elderly mother in Fife.
SNP stalwart Colin Beattie quit as party treasurer hours after he was arrested and released as part of the same investigation.
Police Scotland say the probe, dubbed Operation Branchform, continues.
Police are “extremely concerned” over the disappearance of a man who went missing during a camping trip in Perthshire.
Reece Rodger, 28, was last seen in the Kinloch Rannoch area at around 11.30pm on Saturday night.
He was camping on the north shore of Loch Rannoch with friends, who believed he had gone to bed.
However, there was no trace of Mr Rodger on Sunday morning and he was reported missing, Police Scotland said.
Sergeant James Longden, of Pitlochry Police Station, said: “We are extremely concerned for his safety as he is not dressed for the cold weather and he is not familiar with the area.
“Searches and enquiries are ongoing to trace him as soon as possible to ensure that he is safe and well.”
Mr Rodger, from Fife, is around 6ft tall and of medium build with dark hair. When last seen he was wearing a black t-shirt, black jogging bottoms and wellington boots.
Sergeant Longden added: “I would urge anyone who has seen Reece, or who has any information on his whereabouts to contact police.
“I would also ask anyone living in the local area to please check their outbuildings or sheds in case he has taken shelter there.”
An urgent search for the baby of aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon has entered its second day amid growing fears for the child’s safety.
Marten and Gordon were arrested in Brighton on Monday on suspicion of child neglect after being spotted by a member of the public at about 9.30pm.
They were further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter on Tuesday.
More than 200 police officers are looking for the child and they have been concentrating on an allotment and woodland in the city.
A helicopter, sniffer dogs, thermal cameras and drones have joined the search, which has widened to include the area towards Newhaven.
Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, were reported missing on 5 January after their car caught fire on the M61, near Bolton.
It is believed Marten had given birth just a few days before.
They were spotted multiple times in the days that followed, including in Liverpool, Essex, south London and East Sussex.
Image: Police are searching Roedale Valley Allotments in Brighton
Concerns about their baby grew as it is not thought to have had any medical care.
Read more: From Liverpool to Brighton – mapping the sightings CCTV breakthrough suggests couple ‘sleeping in tent’
Met Police Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said the couple had not given them information about the child’s whereabouts or even disclosed its gender.
“We now have to consider the possibility that the baby has come to harm,” he told reporters.
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Missing couple moments before arrest
He said he still hoped the baby could be found alive but that the cold weather was an obvious risk to its safety.
“Clearly the risk is getting higher… this may not end in the way we would like, but we need to remain hopeful,” he said.
He added they were still open-minded about the possibility the child may have been given to someone else to look after.
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11:55
Police search for missing baby
Chief Superintendent James Collis, from Sussex Police, said the search area was “vast” at about 91 square miles and centred on land between Brighton and Newhaven – about seven miles further down the coast.
He also appealed for people to contact the force with any information or potential sightings over the last few weeks.
Marten’s father, Napier Marten, told The Independent it was “an immense relief” to know the couple had been located but “very alarming news her baby has yet to be found”.
A diving expert who joined the search for missing Nicola Bulley has defended his involvement after a body was found near where she went missing.
The body – which is yet to be formally identified – was found about a mile from where the 45-year-old was last seen walking her dog beside the River Wyre in Lancashire on 27 January.
Peter Faulding and his team at Specialist Group International (SGI) joined the search on 6 February and spent three days scanning the riverbed with hi-tech equipment with no success.
And following Sunday’s discovery, Mr Faulding defended his team’s work, insisting: “We thoroughly search[ed] the riverbed and can categorically confirm that Nicola was not laying on the riverbed on the [three] days that we searched.
Read more: Nicola Bulley timeline: How the search has unfolded Nicola Bulley’s partner’s ‘agony’ after police searching for her recover body from river
“We did search the stretch of river where Nicola was found for four hours on our first day and then upstream past the weir on the subsequent two days.
“The police underwater search teams and land search teams were searching for three full weeks and were also unable to find Nicola.
“Unfortunately, it was a member of the public that made a grim discovery, unconfirmed as yet to be Nicola.”
In the statement, Mr Faulding said the body was found in the reeds at the side of the river “which was not part of our remit”.
He added: “A riverbank and wade search would be the only way to search this area and we were not involved or tasked with that search.
“The difference between these two search areas has caused a lot of confusion and unfair criticism towards myself and my team at Specialist Group International (SGI).
The diving expert added: “I did not volunteer my services, my equipment or my team for any limelight or publicity.
“I simply wanted to lend extra resources to help a family in despair and this was supported by Lancashire Police.
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2:30
How the police search unfolded
“However, there has been unprecedented media and public interest in this case and at every turn, I was asked for an update on my own search, which I provided with only best intentions.
“Support for my assistance and my actions have been overwhelmingly positive although I am aware of that some negativity has been towards myself and my team.”
SGI is a recognised underwater search team for several counties and has worked alongside Thames Valley police for years.
The SGI statement ended: “Sadly, for circumstances out of our control, and as hard as we try, sometimes we are unable to locate the missing person.”
Police in southern California say they are “hopeful” of finding missing actor Julian Sands, but admitted the outcome of the search “may not be what we would like”.
Sands has not been seen for four weeks, after first being reported missing in the Mount Baldy region of the San Gabriel mountains on 13 January.
“Regarding the search for Julian Sands, we remain hopeful but know the outcome may not be what we would like,” a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department said.
“Conditions on Mt Baldy remain a danger and our Aviation Division still patrols the area when they are available. We also plan to search the area by ground in the future.”
Sands’s family were “grateful” for the support they had received since his disappearance, the spokesperson added, but had no further public statement at this time.
The 65-year-old, was reported missing after he failed to return from a hike in January and no trace of him has so far been found.
Numerous searches for the British star have since been undertaken on foot and by air by both local and state-level agencies.
Authorities have previously used a Recco device, which is able to detect electronics and credit cards, in the hope of establishing a more exact area in which to focus search efforts.
Read more ‘Something has gone wrong,’ says friend of missing British actor Julian Sands’s phone showed movement two days after he went missing
Last month, Sand’s hiking partner and friend Kevin Ryan said it was obvious “something has gone wrong” but that the actor’s advanced experience and skill would “hopefully” see his safe return.
Sands was born in Yorkshire and moved to Los Angeles in 2020.
His breakout role came as the free-spirited George in the period drama A Room With A View, in which he starred opposite Helena Bonham Carter.
More recently, in 2021 he played a chief medical officer in the Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi-led drama Benediction.
Friends of Nicola Bulley have gathered for a “last push” roadside appeal two weeks on from her disappearance – after police extended the search for the missing mother-of-two to the Lancashire coast.
The 45-year-old went missing while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre on Friday 27 January after dropping her daughters off at school.
Emma White, a friend of Ms Bulley, is among members of the local community on Friday standing roadside in the Lancashire village with banners and placards featuring her photograph, in a plea to “bring Nikki home”.
Image: Nicola Bulley has been missing since Friday 27 January
She told Sky News: “The community has united once again and it’s a real last push to jog people’s memories.
“We just need to bring Nikki home.”
More questions than answers
A fortnight on from Ms Bulley’s disappearance, the small rural village is no longer the same. The police presence in the quaint village has been overwhelming for many who live nearby.
It is the epicentre of a mystery that has captured the nation’s attention but more importantly, it’s the scene of a major police operation to find a mother to two young girls.
Over the last two weeks the community has banded together to try and find any trace of evidence relating to Ms Bulley’s disappearance: Dog walkers, friends, teachers from her daughters’ school – all searching in hope for some answers.
But after 14 days of not knowing what has happened to the mortgage adviser, the case poses more questions than answers.
Ms Bulley’s family are still praying she will come home, safe and well.
Image: Friends of missing Nicola Bulley are holding a roadside appeal to help jog people’s memories
Search moves to the coast
The focus of the police search operation has now shifted from where Ms Bulley vanished to further downstream, towards where the River Wyre empties into the Irish Sea at Morecambe Bay.
Officers have confirmed they are focusing on the mouth of the river, with Lancashire Police suggesting finding Ms Bulley “in the open sea becomes more of a possibility”.
Sky News understands specialist diving units have also been deployed to scour parts of the 15km stretch of river from the bench where her phone and dog were found to the bay.
After three days of helping the police search the waterway near to where Ms Bulley was last seen, a team of specialist divers that regularly assist police with underwater searches found no trace of her.
Read more: Nicola Bulley’s movements before she vanished Police looking at 500 active pieces of information in search Images released of Nicola Bulley on day she disappeared
Image: The bench where Nicola Bulley’s phone was found, on the banks of the River Wyre
Peter Faulding of Specialist Group International (SGI), whose team were equipped with a £55,000 side-scan sonar able to pick up objects underwater, told reporters he believes it is “unlikely” she has been swept out to sea.
“My personal view is that I think it is a long way to go in a tidal river,” he said.
Ms White said the fact that nothing had been found had given her renewed hope.
“To not find a key, welly, hat or jewellery, or a watch or anything – we are clinging on – whether it’s hope… we think she is not in there.”
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0:53
Voicenote from Nicola Bulley’s partner
‘We need her back’
Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell has told Sky News the last two weeks have been “a rollercoaster ride”.
He says he is trying to do everything to make life as normal as possible for his two daughters. But increasingly they are asking more and more questions about their mummy and where she is.
In a voice note he sent to Sky News, he spoke of his pain and desperation for answers: “We need her back. We have to find her safe ad well. I can’t put those girls to bed again without no answers.”
Lancashire Police have dismissed any suggestion Ms Bulley is a victim of crime and say the scale of the missing person inquiry is “unprecedented”, involving 40 detectives and following 500 lines of inquiry.
Meanwhile, police have been given extra powers to break up groups causing a nuisance in the village following reports of people travelling into the area and filming properties on social media.
Detectives say they are looking at 500 active pieces of information in the search for mother-of-two Nicola Bulley – and have not found “anything of note” yet.
Lancashire Police remains “fully open-minded” and have not yet detected a “suspicious element”, said Superintendent Sally Riley.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, she said her officers had conducted an “unprecedented” number of inquiries.
Supt Riley also said the force had a team of up to 40 detectives working daily to comb through the “enormous” amount of information gathered so far.
This includes information from door-to-door inquiries, calls from the public, CCTV and dashcam, and data from Ms Bulley’s mobile phone and Fitbit device.
Police have also identified 700 vehicles which were in the area on the morning Ms Bulley disappeared and are in the process of contacting the drivers to request any dashcam footage they may have.
Supt Riley said Coastguard and mountain rescue teams were assisting in the search, while the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) were also helping the police with their inquiries.
“This is normal in a missing person inquiry and does not indicate that there is any suspicious element to this story,” Supt Riley said.
“The enquiry team remains fully open-minded to any information that may indicate where Nicola is or what happened to her.
“Any information that comes in that indicates otherwise is being checked out all the time and negated as each inquiry comes up.
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1:37
Independent team hunt dog walker
“We are not closed in any way to any particular line of inquiry.”
Supt Riley added: “All of these extensive enquiries however have so far not found anything of note.”
Six specially trained officers are searching the River Wyre, near to the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, where Ms Bulley went missing on 27 January while walking her dog.
Detectives say their “main working hypothesis” is that the 45-year-old fell into the river and Supt Riley reiterated on Tuesday that this remained the force’s belief at this time.
But Ms Bulley’s family and friends have previously claimed there is “no evidence whatsoever” behind this.
Specialist teams, including a private company with underwater sonar equipment, are carrying out comprehensive searches over the river, but they are yet to find Ms Bulley.
Earlier, a friend of Ms Bulley said it “may be time to start looking down other avenues” if search teams looking in the River Wyre cannot find her.
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2:03
Retracing Nicola Bulley’s journey
Read: What were missing Nicola Bulley’s movements before she disappeared?
Family friend Heather Gibbons said: “I think it’s incredibly hard, but up to a certain level, we understand it’s human nature, it’s natural for everyone to have speculation, because the truth is in this, nothing is making sense.
“The truth is if we look at it factually, no one knows until we have some evidence.
“I know that the family are massively appreciative of all the police have done.
“As family and friends, the way we are looking at it is, we feel we have got the best of the best on that water and hopefully it will be a completion, one way or the other.
“And if they find nothing, then maybe it’s time to start looking down other avenues.”
Image: Workers from private firm SGI search for missing Nicola Bulley
A dive team from Specialist Group International (SGI) joined the search for Ms Bulley yesterday.
The company are using a £55,000 side-scan sonar, with a high frequency of 1,800 kilohertz, to help police carry out a comprehensive search of the river.
The team helped search part of the river on Monday, in an area around and downstream from a bench where Ms Bulley’s mobile phone was left, still connected to a work call.
On Monday night, chief executive Peter Faulding said their search, covering around “three to four miles” of the river, had shown up negative.
He said the team would search another stretch of the river, close to where detectives believe Ms Bulley fell in on Tuesday.
Read more: Nicola Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell reveals heartbreak as new CCTV still First images released of dog walker on day she vanished
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Mr Faulding said: “I personally think, if I rule this stretch of water out where we are working today, I don’t think she is here.
“I think there’s probably a third party involved.”
Police divers previously searched the same area last week as a huge hunt continued for mortgage adviser Ms Bulley, who lived in the village of Inskip, two miles from the river.
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0:53
Voicenote from Nicola Bulley’s partner
On Monday night, Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell told Sky News she “has to be found safe and well” because “I can’t put those girls to bed again with no answers”.
In a separate statement, released through Lancashire Police 10 days on from her disappearance, he also said his girls “miss their mummy desperately” and “need her back”.
“This has been such a tough time for the girls especially but also for me and all of Nicola’s family and friends, as well as the wider community and I want to thank them for their love and support,” he said.
