The parents of 15-year-old Megan Stammers have made an emotional appeal for her to get in contact with them, after she caught a ferry to the continent five days ago with 30-year-old Jeremy Forrest.
It has now emerged that concerns were expressed to another teacher about their relationship, following a school trip to Los Angeles in February.
A friend from Bishop Bell Church of England School in Eastbourne, East Sussex, said that another classmate had raised the issue after seeing the pair holding hands together on the flight home.
The 15-year-old told the Daily Mail: “They would always text each other. He would send her messages saying things like, ‘I miss you’ and ‘I can’t wait to hug you’.
“She would tweet about being in love and show us his texts. But, after it was reported, she stopped and then deleted her Twitter account. She never spoke about it after that and she didn’t tell any of us that she was leaving. She probably knew we would stop her.”
An East Sussex County Council spokesman said: “Because the investigations are ongoing, we are not going to comment in detail, however the school and the county council had been addressing and investigating concerns that had been raised, in line with procedure, when this happened.
“That investigation will continue and we will decide what action to take.”
There have been no reported sightings of Megan or Mr Forrest since they went missing.
The pair is thought to have travelled together on a ferry from Dover to Calais on Thursday evening and were due to come back to the UK on Sunday, but did not use their return tickets.
A text message, believed to be from the teenager, was sent to one of her friends saying she had arrived safely in France but did not come from her own phone, police revealed.
Megan Stammers Missing : Is Megan Realy In France ?
Chief Inspector Jason Tingley of Sussex Police said: “I can’t give a specific time or date but we know there was a message passed to one of her good friends to say she had arrived safely in France.
“I can’t say that message was from her but we believe it was. That gives us some comfort that she has arrived safely and she is in France. That’s our last contact.”
Child protection expert Jonathan Taylor told the couple cannot hide for long and will be found.
“You leave a footprint, either it is digital or you’re spotted. The UK authorities will be working with border agencies, there will be cameras up and they will be found.”
On Monday, Megan’s parents urged the teenager to come home.
Her mother Danielle Wilson made a direct appeal to her daughter, saying: “Sweetheart, I don’t care what you’ve done or why, I just want you home.”
With her voice breaking, she also said: “Please darling, just do anything – text me, ring me, send me a message. I’ve sent you a message on Facebook, just do anything. The phone number hasn’t changed at home, just ring, please sweetheart.”
Describing her daughter as “so loving, so caring”, Ms Wilson added: “You know that your adorable princess wants her adorable mermaid back.”
Her father Martin Stammers described Megan as “just adorable”. He added: “I just want you to come home safe and well.”
Both parents said her disappearance was out of character.
“She is always in at 7pm, she is not one of these kids to roam the streets, she doesn’t go out drinking or anything like that. She doesn’t like the dark so she had never been out after dark,” Ms Wilson said.
She added: “It is completely out of character, this is not her, she is not like this.”
Megan’s family have set up a website Megan Stammers Missing to raise awareness of her disappearance.
Appeals for information have also been posted on Facebook and Twitter. On social networking site ask.fm, Megan recently said she was “excited” about her future and that her motto in life was “You only live once”.
Police believe Megan had left the UK willingly and urged her and Mr Forrest to contact them.
Mr Tingley appealed for any members of the public who see the couple or Mr Forrest’s black Ford Fiesta, registration GJ08 RJO, to contact police.
[adrotate banner=”58″]
