The hunt for Sarah’s phone continues: Police scour drains and bins in search for key evidence

Police investigating the murder of Sarah Everard have begun a second day searching in Sandwich, Kent, for her missing mobile phone – this time in the network of drains below the town.

Forensic officers and police divers first arrived in the tourist spot yesterday and took away a gold necklace for evaluation as they scoured the nearby Delf Stream.

Today they switched their attention to rubbish bins and drains, where they lifted grates to use sticks to try and clear debris for examination.

They were also seen carefully checking below a step near public toilets in the car park where they have been based for the past 48 hours.

Above them was a sign for CCTV cameras around the site, the footage on which may yield more clues as the town’s Ropewalk area remained taped off.

There is currently rain pouring down there, which may slow down some of the searches.

Police this morning switched attention to the network of drains underneath Sandwich, Kent, in the second day of searches

Police search drains in Sandwich today

Officers removed the grate to look inside the drain

Officers were seen with rakes and sticks as they painstakingly went through sludge and debris in the drainage system

Sarah Everard, 33, went missing on March 3 as she walked home from a friend's house in Clapham, south London

Sarah Everard, 33, went missing on March 3 as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London

The hunt for evidence in Sandwich, Kent, has entered a second day with drains now being searched in the town

The hunt for evidence in Sandwich, Kent, has entered a second day with drains now being searched in the town

Sandwich is some 35 miles away from where Sarah’s remains were found on Wednesday in woodland in Ashford, Kent.

Ms Everard went missing on March 3 as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London.

Wayne Couzens, a serving Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with Ms Everard’s murder and kidnap after she disappeared as she walked home to Brixton from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, on March 3.

The 48-year-old, from Deal, appeared in court to confirm his name and address during a short hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.  

The court heard Miss Everard’s body was found inside a builder’s bag in Kent and identified through the use of dental records.

Appearing in court wearing a grey tracksuit and bearing a red mark on his head, Couzens stood as the charges were put to him before being remanded in custody before his case is up at the Old Bailey this morning.

Undergrowth was also being carefully combed through by officers as they looked for anything that could be significant

Undergrowth was also being carefully combed through by officers as they looked for anything that could be significant

Police divers were again in the Delf Stream in Sandwich looking for any evidence for their murder investigation

Police divers were again in the Delf Stream in Sandwich looking for any evidence for their murder investigation

Officers also searched under a step to the toilets, where a CCTV camera sign could be clearly seen on the wall

Officers also searched under a step to the toilets, where a CCTV camera sign could be clearly seen on the wall

Met Diplomatic Protection Officer Wayne Couzens, 48, has been charged with the murder and kidnap of Sarah Everard, 33

Met Diplomatic Protection Officer Wayne Couzens, 48, has been charged with the murder and kidnap of Sarah Everard, 33

Artist's drawing of Wayne Couzens appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday for his first appearance in court

Artist’s drawing of Wayne Couzens appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday for his first appearance in court

The Met Police revealed that Couzens joined the force two years ago in September 2018 when he worked for a response team covering the Bromley area.

He then moved to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in February last year.

The searches have come as Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick remains at the centre of a political storm after a vigil held to remember Sarah on Clapham Common on Saturday night saw scenes of police restraining and arresting women.

Boris Johnson yesterday threw his support behind her when he was asked if he still had full confidence in her.

He said: Yes, I do. The police do have a very, very difficult job. But there’s no question that the scenes that we saw were very distressing and so it is right that Tom Winsor, the inspector of constabulary, should do a full report into it.’

Police remove the lid of a recycling bin in Kent

A forensics officer clambers in the bin to search

Forensic teams also seemed very interested in a recycling bin, which they opened up and emptied looking for leads yesterday

Divers yesterday scoured water in Sandwich, Kent, for clues that could help in their probe, with Sarah's phone still missing

Divers yesterday scoured water in Sandwich, Kent, for clues that could help in their probe, with Sarah’s phone still missing

Police divers in scuba suits prepared to enter the Delf Stream to continue the search yesterday as the investigation continued

Police divers in scuba suits prepared to enter the Delf Stream to continue the search yesterday as the investigation continued

Home Secretary Priti Patel described footage of the vigil as ‘distressing’ but she added: ‘I continue to urge everyone, for as long as these regulations are in place, not to participate in large gatherings or attend protests.

‘The right to protest is the cornerstone of our democracy but the government’s duty is to prevent more lives being lost during this pandemic.’

A snap poll showed the public was divided on whether the vigil should have gone ahead.

The YouGov survey showed 40 per cent of Britons argue the event should have been permitted, while 43 per cent said it should not have continued.

There was also a slight gender divide, with 42 per cent of women backing the vigil, compared to just 38 per cent of men.

The disappearance of Sarah Everard and the arrest of armed policeman Wayne Couzens

March 3: Sarah disappeared after leaving friend’s home Clapham around 9pm. She leaves out of her friend’s back gate and speaks to her boyfriend on the phone for 15 minutes.  

March 5: Sarah’s family share missing posters of her after they become increasingly concerned that she is still not home, spreading the word online with links to the Missing People charity.

March 6: Met Police release an appeal, saying Sarah was thought to have walked through Clapham Common, heading towards Brixton home, a journey of 50 minutes. They say they are not certain she ever arrived home.

March 7: Police release footage of Ms Everard and say she was walking alone on A205 Poynders Road towards Tulse Hill when she was last seen on CCTV, which has not been released to the police.

March 8: Specialist officers are drafted and 120 calls from public come in. A door-to-door operation sees police speak to 750 families.

March 9: Police search gardens near Ms Everard’s route and nearby Oaklands Estate.

Officers also search a pond in Clapham Common and drains along the A205.

Cordon around the Poynders Court housing complex on Poynders Road, forensics officers on scene.

11.59pm: Met police officer Wayne Couzens arrested in Kent on suspicion of kidnap. A woman in her 30s is arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Neighbours say they spotted a Land Rover containing two men watching the property for two hours before around 20 officers raided the house. 

March 10: Specialist police search team arrives in Kent. They search Couzens’ home and garden as well as nearby Betteshanger Park which is around two-and-a-half- miles from the house as well as an abandoned leisure complex in Great Chart near Ashford. 

8pm: Dame Cressida Dick confirms human remains were found in woodland in Ashford, Kent in the search for Sarah.  She was unable to confirm whether the remains belonged to the missing woman. 

March 11:  10am: Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was ‘shocked and deeply saddened by the developments in the Sarah Everard investigation’, adding ‘we must work fast to find all the answers to this horrifying crime’.

Home Secretary Priti Patel added: ‘Every woman should feel safe to walk on our streets without fear of harassment or violence. At this deeply sad and tragic time as we think and pray for Sarah and her family’. 

4pm: Police later confirm the suspect was treated in hospital for a head injury sustained while in custody, before being returned to a police station.

Ms Everard’s family release a statement paying tribute to her as a ‘shining example to us all’, adding that she ‘brought so much joy to our lives’.

The Met reveals an extension to the suspect’s detention was granted by a magistrates’ court, while the woman arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender is released on bail to return to a police station on a date in mid-April. 

6pm: Organisers of a vigil for Ms Everard say they are seeking legal action against the Met after claiming the force reversed its position on allowing the event planned for March 13 to go ahead.

March 12: Searches ramp up in the tunnels carved into the White Cliffs of Dover that run around and below Couzens’ former family garage. 

Teams remain at Couzens’ home in Deal and in woodland near Ashford where human remains were found. 

2pm: Scotland Yard confirms the body found in Kent woodland is Sarah. Her family have been informed.

9pm: Wayne Couzens is charged with the murder and kidnapping of Miss Everard.