Alice Gross: Timeline of the Met police search

The disappearance of teenager Alice Gross is now being treated by police as a murder inquiry after a body was found in a west London river. This is a timeline of the key events.

Detectives say significant efforts were made to conceal the body.

The body was found in the nearby River Brent.

28 August Alice leaves her home in Hanwell, west London, at 13:00 BST, telling her mother Rosalind Hodgkiss she will be home by 18:00 BST.
CCTV footage captures her walking along the Grand Union Canal towpath and at 15:45 BST she is spotted on cameras at Brentford Lock, south of where she lives.
The last sighting of her is at 16:26 BST, again by CCTV, walking along the canal under Trumpers Way, a bridge crossing the canal, heading towards Hanwell.

Concern for missing 14-year-old Hanwell girl

1 September Alice's family make an emotional appeal for her to get in touch with them, saying they "desperately miss her".
The Metropolitan Police (Met) says officers have spoken to her friends, carried out house-to-house inquiries and searched parks and open spaces in their efforts to find her.
3 September
Scotland Yard's homicide and major crime squad takes over the hunt for Alice, but says it is still confident it can get her home safely.

Missing Alice Gross: Homicide team takes over search

4 September Police release CCTV of the last time Alice was seen and reveal they have found a rucksack she was carrying, with the shoes she was wearing inside it.
Her family renew their appeals for help to find her, with her mother Miss Hodgkiss saying: "We'd like to say to Alice first of all that we miss her, that we love her and that she's not in any trouble, and we want to know that she's safe. We just want her to come home."

Missing Alice Gross's rucksack found by River Brent

6 September At 17:00 BST police arrest a 25-year-old man in the Ealing area on suspicion of murder. Detectives also release pictures of cyclists riding past the spot where Alice was last seen to try to track them down.

Alice Gross search: Images of five cyclists released

7 September Police divers search the Grand Union Canal for clues to Alice's disappearance and a sniffer dog is brought in to help scour an expanded search area.
A second man, aged 51, is arrested on suspicion of murder in the afternoon. Police say the two arrests are "independent" of one another and stress it remains a missing persons inquiry. The two were later released with no further action.

Two quizzed in missing girl hunt

16 September Detectives say they are searching for 41-year-old Latvian builder Arnis Zalkalns in relation to Alice's disappearance.
He was last seen at his home in Ealing, west London, on 3 September.
Zalkalns is known to travel to work along a similar route to that which Alice took on the day she disappeared, police said.
A 25-year-old arrested on suspicion of murder is told he will face no further action. Detectives plan an appeal for help to find Alice on BBC's Crimewatch.


Missing man search in Alice case

25 September Alice's family make another emotional plea for her to return home as police stage a reconstruction of her final movements four weeks after she disappeared.

  29 September
Detectives trying to trace Alice move their search to a National Trust-owned estate near to where she was last seen more than a month ago.

Alice Gross: Osterley Park searched in hunt for girl

30 September Search teams find a body in the River Brent. Detectives say significant efforts were made to conceal the body.

Jump media player

Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

Commander Graham McNulty: "Significant efforts were made to conceal the body"

Alice Gross disappearance now a murder inquiry after body found

More on This Story

• Body find sparks Alice murder probe
  01 OCTOBER 2014, LONDON
• Body found during Alice Gross search
  01 OCTOBER 2014, LONDON

• Body find sparks Alice murder probe

  The disappearance of teenager Alice Gross is now being treated as a murder inquiry after a "significantly concealed" body is found.
  

  ---

1. 

   News on the Hour 15:00: BBC London 94.9 Radio
   On BBC London 94.9, the top story is: Scotland Yard says significant efforts were made to conceal a body that was found in the River Brent by police searching for the missing teenager Alice Gross.
2. Airport chief stands down 14:44:
   Heathrow has announced that its chief financial officer Jose Leo is to stand down in March next year.
   

   
3. Overground delays 14:33:
   There are delays of up to 20 minutes on London Overground between Watford Junction and London Euston because of a broken down train.
   For the latest travel updates, visit BBC London's www.2dayhabari.blogsot.com
4. 

   News on the hour 14:00: BBC London 94.9 Radio
   On the 14:00 radio news bulletin: a group of teenagers have been convicted of assaulting and killing a father-of-two at his local community centre in Stockwell.
   
   

    

    Arnis Zalkalns bludgeoned and stabbed his wife to death in 1998

   BBC News takes a look at the prime suspect in the case, named by police as convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns.
5. Alice Gross search timeline 11:10:
   The disappearance of teenager Alice Gross is now being treated by police as a murder inquiry after a body was found in a west London river.
   

   

   This is a timeline of the key events.
6. 

   News on the hour 11:00: BBC London 94.9 Radio
   On BBC London 94.9: A large section of the River Brent has been cordoned off in west London after police searching for the missing teenager Alice Gross found a body last night.
7. Missing girl Alice Gross 10:50: Lauren Turner BBC News
   A local resident says that while the news that a body was found overnight was not unexpected, he wants to know why it took so long to make a discovery so close to where Alice was last seen.
   It is just one of many questions to be asked as the investigation enters a new phase. And for now, the yellow ribbons that cover the streets remain.
8. 

   Hunt for Arnis Zalkalns 10:40: Jon Brain BBC News
   The police's number one priority as far as this investigation goes, is to find Mr Zalkalns and to ask him about his movements on that day and what he knows about Alice's disappearance and possible murder.
9. Police tent in Alice investigation 10:27:
   A police tent on the towpath by the River Brent in Hanwell, west London, after the Alice Gross investigation became a murder inquiry.
   

   
10. 

    Body found in Alice Gross inquiry 10:17: Jon Brain BBC News
    The body hasn't been identified yet but you can be rest assured that detectives would not be holding a press conference at this time of day if they weren't absolutely convinced that it is Alice's body.
    This is now a murder investigation because of the attempts to conceal the body, we are told.
11. Video: Muslim hate crime 'rises' 10:07:
    Hate crime against Muslims in London has risen by 65% over the last 12 months, Metropolitan Police figures show.
    

    

    Islamophobic hate crime offences have increased from 344 to 570 in the last year, with many attacks targeting women wearing traditional Islamic clothing.
12. 

    News on the hour 09:57: BBC London 94.9 Radio
    On BBC London 94.9, the top story is: Police investigating the disappearance of Alice Gross in west London say it's now a murder inquiry, not a missing persons investigation.
    Listen live to find out more.
13. Man charged with stab murder 09:46:
    An 18-year-old student has been remanded in custody charged with murder following a fatal stabbing in Essex.
    Clive Mundoma, of High Street, Brentwood, is due to appear at Basildon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
    The 31-year-old, also known as Casper, lived in the Brentwood area but his family home is in east London.
14. Body found in Alice Gross inquiry 09:31:
    Police have been searching near to the towpath by the River Brent in Hanwell for the past few weeks.
    

    
15. News on the hour 09:00: BBC London 94.9 Radio
    On BBC London 94.9, the top story is: Scotland Yard says significant efforts were made to conceal a body that was found in the River Brent by police searching for the missing teenager Alice Gross.
16. Timeline: Alice Gross disappearance 08:54:
    • 28 August: Alice leaves her home in Hanwell. She was last seen on CCTV at 16:26 BST
    • 4 September: Police release CCTV of the last time Alice was seen
    • 7 September: Divers search the Grand Union Canal
    • 16 September: Police say they are searching for Latvian Arnis Zalkalns
    • 18 September: Police say Zalkalns is a suspect in Alice's disappearance
    • 23 September: Detectives travel to Latvia in their search for Alice and Zalkalns
    • 30 September: Search teams find a body in the River Brent
17. Agony of Alice's parents 08:44:
    The parents of missing schoolgirl Alice Gross told previously how every day of her disappearance brings "new agony".
    

    

    Rosalind Hodgkiss and Jose Gross made emotional pleas for help finding her both in the first days after she went missing and again days before search teams recovered a body from the River Brent.
18. Top headlines
    • Alice Gross: Murder probe launched
    • Body found: Identification to take place
    • Listen: BBC london 94.9
19. Body found in Alice Gross inquiry 08:37:
    Met Police Commander Graham McNulty has urged anyone who may know something to come forward, saying it was not too late.
    

    

    "I would like to thank the local community of Ealing who have shown huge support and patience during the course of our investigation. This discovery will have a significant impact throughout the borough," Cdr McNulty said.
20. Police hunt for Alice Gross 08:29:
    The hunt for Alice has been the largest Met Police search operation since the 7/7 terrorist bombings in 2005, with 600 officers from eight forces and other emergency services such as the London Fire Brigade, involved.
    Officers have searched 10 sq miles (25 sq km) of open land and 3 miles (5.5km) of canals and rivers.
21. Body found in Alice Gross inquiry 08:19:
    Alice Gross' local MP, Stephen Pound, who lives on the same street as Alice Gross' family in Hanwell, said there was an "an incredible sense of sadness".
    

    

    There is also "anger that we're dealing with a pretty cold, cunning predator here - someone who has concealed a body in a particularly effective way.
22. Video: 'Significant effort' to hide body 08:14:
    Metropolitan Police Commander Graham McNulty said "significant efforts" were made to hide a body found by officers searching for the missing 14-year-old in the River Brent, west London.
    

    

    Mr McNulty said: "We are unable to make a formal identification at this stage, but clearly this news is devastating for everyone involved in the search for Alice."
23. Body found in Alice Gross inquiry 08:09:
    Speaking outside Scotland Yard, Commander Graham McNulty said: "We are unable to make a formal identification at this stage, but clearly this news is devastating for everyone involved in the search for Alice.
    

    

    "At this time my thoughts are with Alice's family and friends."
24. Body found in Alice Gross inquiry 08:06:
    The 14-year-old was last seen on 28 August walking along the towpath next to the Grand Union Canal as it passes under Trumpers Way.
    Convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns, 41, from Latvia, remains the prime suspect in the case. He was filmed cycling along the canal 15 minutes after Alice and went missing from his home in Ealing, west London, on 3 September.
25. Body found in Alice Gross inquiry 08:03:
    A body has been found in the search for missing schoolgirl Alice Gross.
    

    

    The police say the investigation is now a murder enquiry. Commander Graham McNulty said significant efforts were made to conceal the body, which was found in the River