Murder investigation launched after mother who fled to UK as refugee disappears

Hadeer Jamil Alonazi arrived with her six-year-old daughter in November

Hadeer Jamil Alonazi pictured after arriving in the UK in November 2018 (Greater Manchester Police )

A young mother is missing and presumed dead just months after she fled to the UK as a refugee, police have said.

Hadeer Jamil Alonazi arrived in Britain with her six-year-old daughter in November. She had travelled from the Greek island of Lesbos - a major arrival point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

Greater Manchester Police said she moved to live with relatives in the Rusholme area but was reported missing last month.

Investigators discovered Ms Alonazi had not been seen for some time before the alarm was raised and have now launched a murder investigation.

Although a body has not been found, enquiries have led officers to believe Ms Alonazi “may not be alive”, they said.

Forensic searches have been carried out at the property where she lived, as well as in the surrounding area.

“This is a really unusual set of circumstances as usually, when someone has gone missing, we’re able to find out when they’d last used their mobile phone or when they’d last turned up at work but unfortunately, we don’t have any record of either for Hadeer," said Detective Chief Inspector Liz Hopkinson, who is leading the investigation.

She and her daughter are originally from Kuwait and are members of the Bidoon minority, who are stateless in the Gulf nation and other countries that do not recognise them as citizens.

They had travelled through Eastern Europe and over the Mediterranean Sea to Greece, then onwards to the UK in an arranged transfer.

Officers have examined CCTV in the area where Ms Alonazi, in her 20s, had lived and questioned witnesses but have not been able to establish her final movements.

“Despite working around the clock on this throughout the month, we’ve sadly not been able to find any proof that Hadeer is alive and as more time passes, our hypothesis that she has come to harm becomes stronger and stronger,” Ms Hopkinson said. “We are still trying to build a fuller profile of Hadeer and the life that she led so we need any information that people have to be passed on to us urgently.

“I understand that people may not want to speak to us and that it can be scary knowing that we’re dealing with a murder investigation but I cannot stress the importance of them doing so.”

The whereabouts of her six-year-old daughter were also unknown when she was reported missing but the girl has since been found safe and well.

Any information on Ms Alonazi’s disappearance would be dealt with in confidence and police appealed for people to come forward.

Ms Hopkinson said: “I cannot imagine the torment her daughter faces of not knowing what has happened to her mum. She’s the reason why we need anyone who knows anything, no matter what it is, to get in touch with us.”

Two men, aged 40 and 43, were arrested on suspicion of murder on 6 July but remain on bail pending further enquiries.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 9283 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.