A Metropolitan Police diplomatic protection officer has been arrested on suspicion of kidnap and murder after the disappearance of a woman from Brixton in south London.
Sarah Everard, 33, went missing as she walked home on the evening of Wednesday, March 3.
The Metropolitan Police said the officer was not on duty the night Ms Everard went missing.
He served in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, and his primary role was uniformed patrol duties of diplomatic premises, police said.
The officer, who is in his 40s, was also arrested on suspicion of a separate allegation of indecent exposure.
A woman was arrested at the same address in Kent on suspicion of assisting an offender and has also been taken into custody at a London police station.
Detectives are continuing their search for Ms Everard, assistant commissioner Nick Ephgrave said.
“We are searching as hard as we can to find Sarah so we really hope that is the case,” he said, when asked by reporters if she was still alive.
This is a serious and significant development in our search for Sarah and the fact that the man who has been arrested is a serving Metropolitan Police officer is both shocking and deeply disturbing,” he told reporters.
He added: “I understand there will be significant public concern but it is essential that the investigative team are given the time and space to continue their work.
On Wednesday, police searches were being carried out in two locations in Kent – woodland near Ashford and at a property in Deal.
A tent was erected outside a house in Freemens Way in Deal, and a car was seen being taken away from the property.
A neighbour said a police officer lives at the address with his “chatty” wife and two children.
She said: “They just seemed like a normal, regular family, there was nothing strange about them at all.”
She added police were digging up the garden.
he Met said it had received more than 120 calls from the public and had visited 750 homes in the area as part of the investigation.
Det Chief Insp Katherine Goodwin said: “This is a significant development in our inquiry. This is a fast-moving investigation and we are doing everything we can to find Sarah.
“We have seen an overwhelming response from the public and I repeat my request for anyone with information that may be relevant to come forward, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”
Sarah was at a friend’s house in Clapham on Wednesday evening.
At about 9pm she left the property in Leathwaite Road through a back gate on to the A205 South Circular road and began walking to her home in Brixton.
She is thought to have walked across Clapham Common and was expected to arrive home about 50 minutes later.
It is unclear if she returned to her home address. She has not been seen or heard from since.
After she left her friend’s house she was seen on security footage walking alone on the A205 Poynders Road, from the junction with Cavendish Road, in the direction of Tulse Hill.
The search was focused on the Poynders Court housing complex, and forensics officers could be seen examining the area.
Sniffer dogs were also used to search the nearby Oaklands Estate and gardens in surrounding streets, while other officers were lifting covers and searching drains along the A205.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told PA: “First and foremost I think all of our thoughts would be with Sarah’s family, her parents and her siblings and her friends.
“It must be awful for them, they are in our thoughts and prayers. Actually Sarah went missing from near to where I live and we’ve seen, my wife and daughters walking around, the posters her friends have put up and it’s heartbreaking, it’s heart-wrenching.”