Large-scale search continues to find missing teen

Devon and Cornwall Police A picture of Taylor wearing a blue shirt with a white Nike logo on it. He has a short moustache and short hair.

Taylor Charlton was last seen on CCTV on 8 May in Barnstaple

Detectives say a large-scale police investigation is continuing as part of efforts to find a missing Devon teenager.

Devon and Cornwall Police said detectives had reviewed a “significant amount” of CCTV as well as carrying out house-to-house, digital and witness inquiries to locate Taylor who was last seen in the Seven Brethren area of Barnstaple.

Police said Taylor was last seen on 8 May at about 22:40 BST and was reported missing at about 17:15 the following day.

Sector Insp for Barnstaple Andy Wills said the last confirmed sighting of Taylor was captured on CCTV showing him heading in the direction of the River Taw.

A view of the River Taw with emergency service teams stood at the side looking across the water.
Police said a hypothesis was that Taylor had entered the river

Wills said a hypothesis was that Taylor had entered the water which had resulted in searches being concentrated on the river, adding “all avenues of inquiry remained open”.

“Shoes, we believe belonging to Taylor, were found on two consecutive days on the high tide line on the riverbank, some 450m (1476ft) apart between Sticklepath and Bickington,” he said.

Andy Wills looking at the camera. He is wearing a black jacket and on the right there's a blue police badge. He is stood in front of the Barnstaple police building which has two parked vehicles.
Insp Andy Wills asked people to avoid speculating

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He said its search teams, as well as other agencies such as the fire service and coastguard, had covered a “vast area” of the river and estuary which was a “challenging location with significant movement of water on each tide”.

Wills said: “We’re extremely grateful for the significant public response to our appeal so far and we still urge anyone with information to contact us.

“If you’re out searching, please help us by keeping yourselves safe.

“We would remind people to avoid sharing speculation and any unconfirmed information online as this can make our investigation more challenging.”

Taylor is described as being about 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall, of muscular build, with dark brown hair and a moustache. He was last seen wearing a bright blue fitted top, jeans and bright blue Nike shoes.

Police said the community could expect to see further search activity on and by the water in the coming days.

He added: “While a highly visible search operation has been taking place to find Taylor, a substantial number of detectives, officers and staff have also been continuing inquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police force.

cre: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqp1dw947qo