Trail of missing teenager leads to Spain

THE hunt for a missing 15-year-old girl, who is believed to have been abducted and brought to Spain, is intensifying after a European Arrest Warrant was issued in the name of 27-year-old Ionut Gheorghe.

The Romanian national was spotted withdrawing €300 in cash from a machine in Enfield, north London, on Saturday, July 23, a few hours before Elena Veronica Ciochina vanished after leaving her family home in Newham, east London, around 7pm.

Police have said that they believe the fugitive pair have made it at least as far as Guadalajara, near Madrid, after making a break from the UK for the Iberian Peninsula.

Elena, who is also Romanian, is 5ft 9in tall, has long black hair, and was wearing a black t-shirt, black tracksuit bottoms, and black plimsolls when she was last seen.

Burly Gheorge is around 5ft 7in, has short, light brown hair, and was donning a white t-shirt, dark shorts and dark flip flops on the CCTV video taken from the bank.

Anyone wishing to share information can contact investigators on +44 208 217 5820.