Search for missing Lancashire woman now being treated as murder, 46-year-old man arrested

A team of detectives searching for a missing Lancashire woman have arrested a man in Darwen on suspicion of her murder.
A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Susan Waring, 45, from Darwen, who has been missing since January 30.A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Susan Waring, 45, from Darwen, who has been missing since January 30.
A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Susan Waring, 45, from Darwen, who has been missing since January 30.

A 46-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday (March 20) in connection with the disappearance of Susan Wareing, 45, from Darwen.

Susan has not been seen since January 30 and Lancashire Police had been treating her disappearance as a missing persons case.

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But on Wednesday, Susan's "out of character" disappearance progressed into a murder investigation.

A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Susan Waring, 45, from Darwen, who has been missing since January 30.A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Susan Waring, 45, from Darwen, who has been missing since January 30.
A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Susan Waring, 45, from Darwen, who has been missing since January 30.

Detectives said forensic searches will take place today (Thursday, March 21) at a property in the Blackburn Road area.

It was initially thought that Susan was last seen on January 30 at around 10pm, leaving an address on Blackburn Road, Darwen.

But the last corroborated sighting of her was at a doctor’s surgery on James Street West on Wednesday, January 16 in the afternoon.

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Detectives are still piecing together her subsequent movements.

Det Ch Insp Geoff Hurst from Lancashire’s Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) said: “Susan’s disappearance has now progressed into a murder investigation and I have a team of detectives working hard to find out what has happened to her and where she may be.

“No one has seen or heard from Susan for weeks which is very unusual. She is often in touch with her sister, and is an active Facebook user but has not logged on since towards the end of January.

“If you know anything about her disappearance, you think you may have seen her either in the days leading up to her going missing or after January 16, we need to speak to you as soon as possible as you may have vital information.

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“Similarly, if you know anything at all you think could help, please let us know.”

There had been previous reported sightings of Susan in the Dumbarton area of Scotland, however, detectives have been able to rule them out and do not believe them to be her.

She is described as being around 5ft 5ins tall, of small build, with brown eyes and collar-length, curly, brown hair.

She speaks with a North West accent and has tattoos on both arms and legs, including smiley faces on her legs.

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Police said Susan’s family have been informed of the development and are being supported by family liaison officers.

Anyone with information can call 101 quoting incident reference LC-20190320-0963.

You can also report information to us online here: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/0401020119E01-PO1

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.