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Police given extra time to quiz Shannon suspect
The 39-year-old man, who has not been named by police, was arrested on Friday after the nine-year-old was found in the base of a bed a mile from her home in West Yorkshire.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:30 March 17, 2008
London: Police have been given extra time to question a man suspected of abducting schoolgirl Shannon Matthews.
The 39-year-old man, who has not been named by police, was arrested on Friday after the nine-year-old was found in the base of a bed a mile from her home in West Yorkshire.
Media have named him as Michael Donovan, an uncle of Matthew's stepfather Craig Meehan.
Police will also continue the delicate task of talking to Matthews to find out what happened to the youngster between her disappearance from the gates of her school in Dewsbury and her dramatic rescue 24 days later. Matthews' mother Karen said she "just couldn't stop crying" on seeing her again.
"When I first saw Shannon again I was overwhelmed - I just couldn't stop crying, knowing she's back where she belongs and she's safe."
"I never gave up hope and now she'll be able to come home and sleep in her room again."
Her father Leon Rose was equally overjoyed, saying "I am buzzing over it, especially since Shannon has been found alive. I'm over the moon."
West Yorkshire police rejected suggestions in the media by Member of European Parliament Edward McMillan-Scott that they would have found her quicker if they had used an amber alert scheme.
At one stage, 10 per cent of the force's officers were involved in helping in the search. The youngster had gone missing on February 19 after a swimming trip, prompting one of the biggest investigations in the area since the Yorkshire Ripper inquiry of the late 1970s. She was discovered in the base of a bed at a flat in Batley Carr after police smashed their way in on Friday.
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