Thursday, 11 September 2003 - 9:14pm |
National News

Arrest unrelated to missing girl inquiry

1 min read

Police investigating the disappearance of Featherston six year old Coral Burrows have tonight arrested a man for an assault unrelated to the inquiry.

Detective Inspector Rod Drew, the head of Operation Reef, says the 29-year-old Featherston man will appear in the Masterton District Court at 10am tomorrow.

The assault charges relates to a fight two weeks ago with another man.

Mr Drew says that the man arrested, who is in custody overnight, had been spoken too by police during the course of inquiries into Coral’s disappearance.

The arrest however is quite separate to finding out what’s happened to Coral and where she might be.

Mr Drew is unable to comment further on the circumstances of the arrest as the matter is now before the court.

The inquiry into Coral’s disappearance continues with further searches planned tomorrow, including the use of an Air Force Iroquois helicopter, police divers, and police and civilian search and rescue experts.

&#34A huge amount of ground has been covered but the only significant find has been Coral’s backpack in Abbot’s Creek.&#34

More than 150 calls have been received on the free 0508 677 333 or 0508 OP REEF phone line. There’s also been a big response to the area canvas of homes and businesses in the Featherston community.