A devastating and heartbreaking case of the disappearance of “very kind and beautiful” Sarah Everard.

A recent story that has shocked the nation this week when a 33 year old marketing executive from York was walking home from a friend’s house just after 9pm last Wednesday en route to her flat located in Brixton, a long 50 minute walk away. 

However, Sarah never made it home and alarm bells started ringing with her partner, friends and family the following day when she failed to answer her phone or meet her boyfriend at their pre-organised arrangement.  

With concern beginning to grow, Sarah’s father, a University of York professor and mother, a charity worker travelled down to London to join the search for their missing daughter.

Around midnight on the following Tuesday, Metropolitan Police made a truly shocking announcement, they had arrested one of their own in connection to the disappearance of Sarah. 

CCTV footage obtained by detectives from buses led officers to travelling 80 miles away from London to Kent where they arrested serving police officer, Wayne Couzens, at his address in Deal.

Sarah’s family and friends have been left distraught upon hearing the news “I could never have imagined that the investigation could have taken such an unexpected twist,” said the uncle Nicholas Everard to MailOnline, “’It’s shocking and very upsetting. We were not expecting a development like this and it’s difficult to make sense of it.”

The story is both shocking and devastating and we will see how it unfolds and if any closure is provided from the detectives and Met Police Force’s investigation.

The sad reality is, the tragedy that has occured with the Sarah Everard case is what every woman fears when walking home alone at night. The overwhelming feeling of vulnerability and danger when travelling anywhere independently, looking over your shoulder constantly and crossing the road or pretending to be on the phone when passing a man on the street.

Things should not be this way. Women should not have to feel like their lives are potentially at risk from a simple act of walking home. 

This international women’s month, we ask you to educate yourselves on struggles that women face. We ask you to protect and defend women from people who wish to disrespect or even harm them. 

Read our blog post on local women’s charities that need your help.

We hope Sarah’s family and friends heal and grieve in a healthy way and we’ll be reading more on this story as it develops.