London: A British teacher is believed to have been murdered in Qatar hours after flying back to the Middle East from her grandmother’s funeral.
Friends of primary school teacher Lauren Patterson, 24, said she was last seen at a nightclub in the capital, Doha, with two Qatari men, one of whom was an ex-boyfriend.
A friend said the ex-boyfriend had since gone to Saudi Arabia and Doha police had taken the other man, who had a bruised lip, in for questioning.
On Monday night there were suggestions from friends that Patterson had left a nightclub at five-star hotel La Cigale with a group of Qatari men and had texted friends to say she was being taken to the wrong house.
One close friend posted a message on Twitter saying: ‘Lauren was raped and brutally murdered.
‘Her body was found in the dumpsters behind La Cigale.’
The 1.050-Qatari Riyal-a-night hotel has three nightclubs. Its website boasts ‘welcome to the best party in Doha’.
Patterson was last seen outside La Cigale at 1.20am on Saturday, but it is not clear what happened next.
The man who was arrested, a friend of Patterson’s ex-boyfriend, claimed he got his bruised lip after a fight with a taxi driver.
He claims the driver had dropped Patterson at the wrong address. Police searched the man’s apartment but he was later released.
After Patterson disappeared, her family and boyfriend launched a frantic campaign on Facebook and other social media to find her.
But 40 hours later, her boyfriend, James Grima, posted a message saying she was dead.
It was followed by dozens of other tributes, praising a ‘truly amazing’ young woman.
On Monday her mother Alison left her own online tribute, writing: ‘Thank you so much to everyone for all their wonderful words about Lauren.
‘She was a truly remarkable girl, my rock, always there for everyone. I know she’s in heaven now in her Daddy’s arms.’ Patterson, who flew back from her grandmother’s funeral on Friday, was a primary teacher at Newton British School in Doha.
Her mother, a widow, lives with her other children Georgia, 16, and David, 14, in Kent.
They had moved back to Britain only recently, after living in Luxembourg for seven years.
Her mother, a reflexologist, is believed to be flying out to Qatar. Neighbours were unaware of the apparent tragedy.
On Sunday, Patterson’s boyfriend Grima, an IT technician and DJ based in Malta, posted an appeal to track her down after becoming concerned about her whereabouts.
The alert went viral as hundreds joined the search for her but hours later Grima announced that she had died.
The Foreign Office said it was aware of reports that a body had been discovered but were unable to comment further.
A spokesman said: ‘We are aware of a British national, Lauren Patterson, reported missing in Qatar.
‘We are providing the family with consular assistance.’
Last November an American pre-school teacher, 40-year-old Jennifer Brown, was allegedly killed there by a Kenyan security guard.
He will face trial next month and could be given the death penalty if convicted.
