Shannon Matthews Is Found
Missing schoolgirl Shannon Matthews has been found alive in the Dewsbury area of West Yorkshire 24 days after she disappeared.
Police smashed their way into a flat in Lidgate Gardens in Batley Carr and emerged carrying Shannon, neighbours said.
Shannon Matthews
The young girl looked "quite calm" and officers confirmed she was OK.
A local resident, who did not want to give her name, said: "One of my neighbours heard banging.
"When he went outside, police were breaking the door down - the man wouldn't come out so they broke in. Apparently they found her in bed."
The neighbour believed the man who occupied the flat where Shannon was found lived alone and had children who had been taken into care.
She added: "We haven't seen him for two or three years. But apparently he's come back."
The woman who lives downstairs from him tipped off police after hearing footsteps, she said.
Earlier reports claimed the little girl was found hiding under a bed in a her grandparents' home.
Police had been searching for the nine-year-old for over three weeks.
The youngster has now been taken to a police station where she will be reunited with her mother.
Sky's north of England correspondent Gerard Tubb said: "I only know that she is alive but I wasn't given any impression that she was harmed.
"They've got her, they're very excited."
Shannon failed to return home from school after a swimming trip on February 19.
Mother Karen Matthews
The schoolgirl's aunt Amanda Hyett said Shannon's mother Karen Matthews had been driven away by police from the family home shortly before 2pm.
Former Scotland Yard detective, Mike Hames, told Sky police "always thought she was being kept away from home by someone that knows her".
"It is quite rare that you would find a child alive after all this time," he added.
Earlier this week, Ms Matthews, 32, a mother-of-seven from Dewsbury, West Yorks, said: "She got abducted. That's all I can say."
Asked if someone she knew was responsible, she said: "It seems that way because there's no trace of her at all.
"There's no trace of her swimming costume, her towel or anything like that that she's taken with her."
Shannon had been dressed in a black jumper with a school logo, a white cotton T-shirt, black trousers and a waist-length black coat with fur round the hood.
One national newspaper offered a £50,000 reward for information about her disappearance.
Police searched more than 200 homes and received over 300 calls from the public in their extensive investigation.
Friends and neighbours also distributed leaflets appealing for information about Shannon's whereabouts across West Yorkshire.
Hi Brian,
Good news - it looks like Shannon Matthews has been found alive. I hope we get the same result with Madeleine.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7296756.stm
Regards,
C
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Hi C, I hope so too...and as far as I know, Madeleine is still in the same location.
Brian
Hello Brian,
Just had to send you this - so glad you were right about her being alive...
Best wishes,
Lucy-Jane in France
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Thanks Lucy...I'm very happy she is safe.
Brian
Hi Brian
Finally, some good news, although unconfirmed, but looking more and more is is true.
Here are some links, she was approximately 4 miles from home in Batley.
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Looks like this report is confirmed...great news!
Brian
EJ
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Hot+Topics/Shannon+Matthews+-+Missing
Shannon: Schoolgirl found
Shannon has been missing since February 19
MISSING Dewsbury schoolgirl Shannon Matthews is belived to have been been found alive in West Yorkshire.
The nine-year-old disappeared three weeks ago after a school swimming lesson.
No details have emerged as yet as to the circumstances of today's events.
Hundreds of police and residents have been involved in the search for the schoolgirl in what became West Yorkshire Police's largest investigation since the Ripper Inquiry of the 1970s.
Officers and specialist teams from across the north of England have been involved.
Leading detectives had said they were gravely concerned for the youngster's safety because there had been no sightings of her since the afternoon she went missing.
Among the homes searched by officers with specialist dogs trained to identify blood and human remains were those of sex offenders living in the Dewsbury area.
As part of the investigation, a complete fingerprint and DNA profile of the nine-year-old had been compiled, using samples taken from her home. This was to have helped pinpoint detectives to where she had been, whether voluntarily or against her will.
The full article contains 182 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
Last Updated: 14 March 2008 2:25 PM
Brian,
Good news!!! Shannon was found alive and well.
Thank you for a great job you're doing.
I am looking forward to hearing good mews about Maddeleine McCann. I hope she will be found alive soon.
Marina
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Hi, me too...wonderful news for Shannon...and I hope UK authorities do get a chance to search for Madeleine in PDL.
UPDATE: If the DD's are correct, Shannon might have something very important she needs to talk about...I would be caution to taking her home to her family right away.
I think she should get a chance to talk to professionals that deal with cases like hers.
Brian
Short note, u might already have, shannon matthews has been found alive, in a flat one mile from her house hidden in a canopy bed.
Case 347 madeleine Mccann
Also let you know in spanish news they are saying they have found a white bag with bones in it, in the lake they were searching
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Hi, thanks will post both news reports.
Brian
Your dream was right, Shannon M is found near of her home.
Building is brickhouse with many apartments
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=533944&in_page_id=1770&ct=5
Anne
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Hi Anne, great news...and I'm glad she is safe.
Brian
Hi Brian,
Just a quick email, to let you know, if you didn't know already that Shannon Matthews has been found safe and well this afternoon. Link to sky news attached.
No doubt many of your regulars will have already have notified you. But when we have so much bad news going on around the world it is good to share some good news for a change. There is hope for all missing persons around the world after all.
Take Care.
Sharon, UK.
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Hi Sharon, thanks got about 400 emails so far, but with news like this...I welcome an overloaded mailbox :)
Brian
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Hi, thanks...can you check this, as it looks like to me she was found in my map.
Brian
Hi Brian
Fantastic Fabulous News - I cannot type for joy! You were right - check out your DD with house and she was near and with someone she knew etc.
Shannon Matthews has been found read below from Sky News:
Regards Alex
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Hi Alex, thanks and I'm glad she's safe.
Brian
Hi Brian,
FANTASTIC NEWS!
Breaking news on SKY - Shannon Matthews has been found alive and well in a house only a mile away from her home 24 days after she went missing! A 39 year old man has been arrested at the property. Apparently police doing routine searches in the area knocked at the door but got no reply, when they talked to neighbours they said that nobody had come out of the house so they must be still inside. The police then decided to break down the door and upon doing so and searching the house they found Shannon and the 39 year old man hidden in drawers beneath a divan bed. Shannon is being cared for by West Yorkshire police and has not yet been re-united with her mum. Apparently the man arrested is related in some way to Craig Meehan, the stepfather.
Check out www.sky.com/news
Lets hope this outcome becomes the same for the McCanns, and Madeleine is found well and SOON!
Thank you for your very special gifts, God Bless.
Chrissie
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Hi Chrissie, yes me too.
Brian
3,448 feet off!!! youre losing your touch :)
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Hi, if it was possible to see 'brick homes' from this map maybe I could have done better...anyway, she is found and that's all that matters.
Brian
Hi Brian,
great news.
Will be interesting to see if details of this guy matches your DD. No details of him released as yet.
regards
DD
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1309334,00.html
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Hi, me too...this news in not on US tv, I checked CNN and FOX and nothing...went to Sky News and its front page :)
Brian
Hiya Brian,
This is the latest story about Shannon, am so pleased that she has been found. You had a number 6 in one of the DD's about Shannon, and she was found at number 26. Wish all stories of missing kids, could have such an outcome as this.... Best wishes to you and the familly, keep up the great work
Cy uk
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Thanks, and will do.
Brian
March 15, 2008
Shannon Matthews found hiding under bed with her stepfather’s uncle
After disappearing 24 days ago, Shannon Matthews was found in the base of a bed in the home of Paul Drake
Shannon Matthews, whose disappearance sparked one of the biggest police searches in recent years
Image :1 of 5
When officers arrived at No 26 Lidgate Gardens shortly before midday yesterday, it was initially just another door-knock in their painstaking search for Shannon Matthews.
The resident — the uncle of Shannon’s stepfather, and part of the door-to-door trawl of anyone who might be known to the girl — appeared not to be at home.
They tried a downstairs flat, where a conversation with a neighbour provided the sudden breakthrough for which the Matthews family, their friends and the police force had been praying for three weeks.
Though Paul Drake, the resident, lived alone in the property in Batley Carr, the sound of a child’s footsteps had been heard lately.
Officers were told that Mr Drake — also known as Mick Donovan — never left the premises without his car, about which he was obsessive. They were led to believe that Mr Drake was still in the flat because his prized silver Peugot was parked in the street outside.
The two police officers decided they were dealing with more than a routine visit. Keeping an observation on the property, the officers called for an emergency back-up team. A battering ram was used to break down the door and officers burst into the house.
They immediately searched from room to room, and after hearing noises, uncovered Shannon, hidden within the base of a double divan bed. Alongside Shannon, in the other half of the cavity, was Mr Drake. The 24-day search was over.
Neighbours described how Shannon appeared calm as she was carried from the scene, with no apparent sign of injury. Then Paul Drake emerged, dragged out in handcuffs to awaiting back-up officers and a volley of pent-up anger from local residents.
As word got out into the community, Karen Matthews, Shannon’s mother, was told of her daughter’s safe recovery by a neighbour, Peter Brown, a short time after.
“She just froze. She was in shock. Then her reaction was crying,” said Mr Brown. “After that, she had a phone call from the police liaison officer. They came to pick her up. Karen and Craig [Shannon's stepfather] both left the house together. We are going to have a party tonight.”
Shannon disappeared 24 days ago after returning to Westmoor Primary School in Dewsbury from a swimming trip. It led to one of the largest investigations mounted by the West Yorkshire force, involving up to 300 detectives, more than a tenth of the force’s strength.
Amanda Hyett, Shannon’s aunt, sobbed as she said: “I am so pleased she has been found. We just need her home now. I just want to say thank you to everyone that helped.”
Ms Hyett was with Shannon’s mother and stepfather when the news came through that the girl had been found safe and well. “We were all howling on the stairs with complete joy,” she said.
It is understood that Mr Drake — said to be the brother of Craig Meehan’s mother, Alice Meehan — has two daughters aged 10 and 12 who were taken into care some years ago. Alice Meehan, 49, last night revealed that he was arrested in 2004 when he took his oldest daughter from school. She said Mr Drake lost his own children three years ago after a split from his wife.
“I can’t believe he had Shannon, my own brother, it feels like he has brought shame on our family. I’m sure there’s no way he would have hurt her. He was missing his kids.”
She said Mr Drake had custody of his children but was eventually deemed unfit and no longer saw them: “This killed him.”
As news spread of the nine-year-old’s safe return, people emerged on to the streets of Dewsbury and Batley to celebrate, with lager and wine.
Mandy Dixon, 37, described how police descended on Lidgate Gardens. Officers battered their way through the blue door opening on to stairs up to the maisonette flat. A plainclothes officer brought Shannon out first.
She said: “A neighbour shouted out, ‘Is that Shannon?’ and they said, ‘Yes, it is’. I could not see Shannon’s face, she was covered up. She was clinging to the officer for dear life.”
Another neighbour, David Hughes, 46, a former soldier, whose flat overlooks the suspect’s home, said: “They busted in the door at about 1.30pm and later they dragged him out. He was cuffed to two police officers. They ordered him to obey their commands but he refused, curling his legs underneath him as if he did not want to go. He was crying and whingeing.
“Shannon came out with two police officers. She looked OK. I would say quite calm. She was dressed in a dark blue jacket and trousers.
“I could see it was Shannon. This episode has left us all so incredibly happy that she is going home alive and well.”
Residents on the estate expressed astonishment that they could have been living so close to the missing girl for so long. One said: “It is so shocking that she could have been such a short distance away for the last three weeks without us knowing. There has been no sight or sound of this little girl.”
People in the estate, which is mixed between Asian and white working class, spoke of a loner who hardly ever emerged from the flat.
Ashraf Dadhiwak, a newsagent, 51, said: “I have not seen him for a year. He is a loner who used to come into the shop with his two daughters. He did not look as if he was all there, if you know what I mean.He looked ill to me, certainly not healthy, and had the appearance of someone frightened of something.”
A resident, who did not want to be named, said the daughters were taken into carewhen his wife was unwell and he couldn’t look after them. “I thought he had left the area but maybe he came back recently. A neighbour came to tell me there were police in the street and said the woman in the flat downstairs had called the police. Apparently she heard a child’s footsteps and knew he did not have any children so she was suspicious.”
Last night a large area of the estate surrounded by a grassy knoll was cordoned off by scenes-of-crime tape.
A yellow telephone directory lay unrecovered on the porch and shabby curtains in the upstairs windows had a pattern with the words “biker boy”.
Inside, forensic science experts began their painstaking work which will continue this morning.
A statement from West Yorkshire Police said: “As part of ongoing investigations, detectives and specialist search officers attended a house at Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, Dewsbury, at 12.30pm this afternoon.
“During a search of the house, officers located Shannon Matthews who was found concealed in the base of a divan bed. A 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of abduction at the address and is currently in custody at a West Yorkshire police station. Shannon is currently in the care of West Yorkshire Police.”
Missing for 24 days
February 19 Last sighting of Shannon at about 3.10pm leaving Westmoor Junior School in Dewsbury. Police begin a search of the area
February 21 Police confirm Shannon’s friends said she talked of running away from home
February 22 Police release CCTV footage of Shannon leaving Dewsbury Sports Centre
February 23 Police admit that they are “gravely concerned” about finding Shannon despite receiving more than 300 calls from the public and searching more than 200 homes
February 25 Police call in 50 officers to search bins around Shannon’s home. Specialist divers have searched a local pond, sewers and drains
February 29 Shannon’s mother makes plea for her return for Mother’s Day
March 5 Police release a recording of Karen Matthews’ 999 call on February 19
March 11 More than half of the UK’s specialist search dogs are involved in the hunt
March 14 Shannon found alive in Batley Carr, 24 days after she went missing. A man aged 39 is arrested in relation to her disappearance
Sources Times database and Home Office
Hi there Brian
Great news just to let everyone know Shannon Matthews has been found alive.
Here is the link:
All my love Jennifer Devlin xx
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Hi Jennifer, wonderful news :)
Brian
Hi Brian
There has just been a statement issued by the West Yorkshire Police.
I have highlighted the relevant part in the report below.
EJ
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Thanks for the information, and I think this is a very good idea.
Brian
Hi Brian,
Please check out A and B below after you have read my intro:
I thought I would share with you an anecdote I was told on sharing the news of Shannon Matthews being found alive . In the public house they were all waiting around excitedly for the Cheltenham Gold Cup Race to begin when there was a NEWSFLASH announcing the Great Race would be delayed as they had BREAKING NEWS to impart. The News of Shannon being found alive SENT THE PUB IN AN UPROAR - everyone was EUPHORIC! -no moans about the long-awaited Race being delayed ! And this is hours and many miles away from where Shannon lives. Can you imagine what it must be like in her area? I thought I would share this atmosphere with you and I hope you have a bottle out and are celebrating. YOU DESERVE IT!!! It is not often we get such wonderful news. You must be EUPHORIC. YOU ARE FANTASTIC AND A FABULOUS HUMAN BEING AND THIS SHOULD SEND ANY DOUBTS AS TO WHAT YOU ARE DOING- AWAY INTO THE DARk RECESSES AND CORNERS WHERE THEY BELONG. BRIAN YOU ARE BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!
A
1. You said she might be with an uncle- and this man is her great step-uncle.
2.You also drew a red-brick house
3. And said something about her possibly being in an apartment/flat if I recall correctly?
4. You said she would be found
As yet we do not know why she was with this man. It could be that she asked him to hide her as she was allegedly scared to go home. In addition she allegedly had bruises on her arm and was sent home by her uncle?
Therefore it is not clear yet whether this man (her great step-uncle was acting as a FRIEND OR FOE? If he is found to have been acting as a friend then your DD concerning the FRIEND part will also be true.
I think they said the house number was 26- I think you had a 6 in one of your DDs?
She was also found I think approximately 1 mile away from her home. You also mention in DD something re it being near her home.
What are your feelings at present on this matter Brian?
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B
Please find below some links to the latest on Shannon Matthews:
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Revealed: The 'scruffy misfit' who lost his own two children
See Picture of Paul Drake also known as Mic Donovan
(He is the brother of Shannon's stepfather's mother = Stepfather's Uncle and great Uncle to Shannon. And this is a very informative piece - Please read it Brian. I have not copied the pictures as I know it slows up your site)
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PIC OF BED with drawers underneath showing where Shannon and Drake were hidden when police broke in
Alive: Shannon Matthews was found in a bed drawer while Paul Drake, the uncle of her stepfather Craig Meehan, has been arrested in connection with her disappearance
Curled up in the other was 39-year-old Paul Drake, the uncle of Shannon's stepfather Craig.
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INTRIGUING ???????
I know you may think the tabloids are not as brilliant as others but I find if I check most of them some snippets of information can sometimes be useful.
There is also a map where Shannon was found:
Donovan is said to be the brother of Craig Meehan’s mother Alice Meehan.
At one stage Craig lived at the family home in School Lane, Dewsbury but left to live with Shannon’s mother.
His father Brian Meehan also lived at the flat but neighbours said he died at Christmas time.
Today police were guarding the Meehan’s home and neighbours said that Mrs Meehan and a man who was now living there left about a week ago.
"She lived there for about five years and after her husband died, another man moved in," said one woman.
"Just a few days ago, they just left without telling anyone what was happening or where they were going."
He said the police had been at the flat for two days and a forensic team had been inside for several hours.
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Read this too Brian please:
Another informative piece with Mrs Matthews claiming ' the day Shannon went missing Karen turned u at their house with a black eye (Karen = I suppose they mean Shannon's mother? Also other alleged behaviour of the stepfather etc......
Also has pictures of Shannon's father Leon Rose, her mother Karen and Craig Meechan her stepfather together.
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THE TIMES ON LINE REPORT :
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SHANNON PLACED UNDER PROTECTION ORDER:
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IN THIS ARTICLE 1 HOUR AGO THEY ARE SAYING ' It is understood that Shannon has yet to be reunited with her mother......'
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jwSFk5eVfAktcPkqIznrOU_wH6og
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ANOTHER TIMESONLINE ARTICLE - Re- traumatic event and effects on victim and her family etc.
It’s over. Now for the demons
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3556550.ece
quote
Melanie Gill, a child forensic psychologist, said children frequently downplay their experience in the hope that things get "back to normal".
Keenly sensitive to their own family’s anxiety, they also often seek to protect their parents from what they have been through. unquote
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CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!!!
and best wishes to you and your wonderful family. I thank you for what you do in our name.
Alex
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Thank you for doing what you do too :) I have to help Samuel with something right now, and I'm not able to read all this right now...but I will.
Take Care,
Brian
3.16.2007
Hi brian this looks like the box shape you have drawn on the brick house below the windows.
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/9pm-update-with-video-Shannon.3880741.jp
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Police officer outside the house Shannon was found
DD CASE 610:
There are several windows Brian and You seem to have drawn the area of the white porch and windows above are three and she was found upstairs
and the entrance to the flat (maisonnette) was through the white boxed porch. There is also some sort of box- porch to the side of the building.
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in the long number on your DD- unless this is a licence no of this uncle or someone else's car?DD CASE 610:
There are several windows Brian and You seem to have drawn the area of the white porch and windows above are three and she was found upstairs
and the entrance to the flat (maisonnette) was through the white boxed porch. There is also some sort of box- porch to the side of the building.
If only the family had checked out your site ( I am presuming they have not or did and missed these vital clues) Shannon would have been found sooner. You said she was near her home, in a brick building probably a flat etc, someone with the name beginning with J and also with a friend ( even if this uncle turns out to be a paedophile? Shannon may have gone with him believing he was her friend?) You gave the no 6 and this address is no 26 however you also have a 2 and 6 together backwards
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Brian I thought I would include the pic below as I must have been exhausted or something, as when I first viewed this picture I thought it was the specialist police 'KICKING in the door,' and I thought to myself it was rather a 'puny' (weak) effort . HA! HA! I truly must have needed some sleep. Well I hope this had made you laugh at me , as every time I view it I want to laugh. I would not however truly detract from the wonderful effort these guys have made. I WISH THEY HAD CONTROL OF THE MADELEINE MCCANN CASE - AND PERHAPS WE WOULD SEE SOME TRULY MAGNIFICANT RESULTS LIKE THESE. YES IT TOOK THEM 24 DAYS = BUT WOW! WHAT A WONDERFUL RESULT!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Scenes of Crime Officers examine the house where Shannon Matthews was found alive in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire March 14, 2008.
REUTERS/Phil Noble
http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKL1475049620080314
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http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/SHANNON-SAFE-Where-she-was.3880696.jp
There are buildings here with 3 windows above like your DD- See the 'View Gallery' section:
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http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/EditorialGallery.aspx?ArticleID=3880696&SectionID=39
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Dewsbury Moor residents celebrated