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Metropolitan Police said Wednesday night that detectives investigating the 33-year-old’s disappearance had found remains in a wooded area in Ashford, Kent.
Met Commissioner Cressida Dick tried to reassure the public in the wake of recent events, saying that “fortunately it is incredibly rare for a woman to be abducted from our streets.”
She added: “But I fully understand that despite this, women in London and the general public, particularly those in the area where Sarah disappeared, will be concerned and may feel scared.”
The Met said the arrested officer’s main job was to patrol diplomatic premises in uniform, but did not specify where he had worked. He was not on duty at the time of Ms. Everard’s disappearance.
The Diplomatic Protection Squad is responsible for protecting parliamentary property, including Downing Street and the Palace of Westminster, as well as embassies in London.
The officer, in his 40s, was also arrested on a separate charge of indecent exposure, the Met said.
A woman in her 30s has been arrested on suspicion of helping a criminal.
In a statement, Ms. Dick said: “Today’s news that a Metropolitan Police officer was arrested on suspicion of Sarah’s murder has sent waves of shock and anger through the public and across the Met.
“I speak for all my colleagues at the Met when I say that we are absolutely shocked by this terrible news. Our job is to patrol the streets and protect people. “
Investigators continue to work “around the clock” on what Ms. Dick described as a “very fast moving” case.
The remains have not yet been identified and it could take some time to do so, the Commissioner added.
She said that people living around Clapham and Tulse Hill could expect to see an increase in patrols in the area.
In addition to searching the forest in Ashford, over the course of Wednesday, officers also searched property in Deal, Kent.
Marketing executive Ms Everard disappeared while walking home from a friend’s flat in South London on Wednesday 3 March.
Everard is believed to have walked down Clapham Common to his Brixton home, a journey that should have taken about 50 minutes.
She was last captured with a doorbell camera walking down the A205 Poynders Road towards Tulse Hill at around 9:30 pm on March 3.
Organizers said: “It is wrong that the response to violence against women requires women to behave differently. In Clapham, the police told the women not to go out at night this week. Women are not the problem.
“We have all been following the tragic case of Sarah Everard for the last week. This is a vigil for Sarah, but also for all women who feel unsafe, disappear from our streets and face violence every day. “
Police say they continue to appeal to residents to send in CCTV footage that could have captured her the night of her disappearance and that they also want delivery drivers and other motorists who were in the South Circular at the time she disappeared to review your dash cam. footage in hopes of finding more clues.
Downing Street said Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s thoughts are with Everard and his friends and family.
His official spokesperson told reporters at a Westminster briefing: “As investigations are ongoing into this case, I cannot comment.
“But the Prime Minister’s thoughts are with Sarah, her friends and her family.”
Following the police officer’s arrest, the Metropolitan Police said they had referred the Independent Office of Police Conduct.
