Metropolitan Police officers have launched an urgent search for waitress Jessica Parkinson after she failed to turn up to work and sent ‘out of character’ text messages, panicking bosses and colleagues
Police have issued a statement on the desperate search for an Australian waitress who vanished in London after sending cryptic text messages to her friends.
Officers are now urging Brits to come forward with any information they might have on 29-year-old Jessica Parkinson, who was last seen on Sunday, December 8 in south London. The Aussie was backpacking in the UK when she mysteriously vanished, and is said to have sent pals a series of “out of character” text messages when they asked where she was.
Jessica, who was staying at a hostel in the Bermondsey, south London, is yet to be found almost two weeks on. A spokesperson for the Met Police has now urged members of the public to come forward with any information regarding her whereabouts.
In a statement, the force said: “Police are currently investigating the whereabouts of Jessica Parkinson, 29 after she was last seen on Sunday, 08 December in Bermondsey. Anyone who may have seen Jessica is encouraged to contact police quoting reference number, 01/1196494/24.”
Jessica is described as being 5ft4 with blue eyes and reddish, blonde hair. She had discussed travelling back to Australia for the holidays and staying there until March, but none of her family or friends on the other side of the world have heard from her, it is reported.
She left bosses and colleagues at her workplace panicked when she failed to turn up for a shift, causing them to alert the cops. Jessica’s father, from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, said he hadn’t been able to get hold of his daughter for around two weeks, it is reported.
It is also understood Jessica sent a colleague a “cryptic” message on the day she failed to turn up for work. She has now missed at least three shifts in a row. Restaurant owner Joe Walters told MailOnline: “Our manager (initially) sent a message asking where she was, and she responded that she thought she was in at 5pm and she would be right there.
“That was very out of character for her. She didn’t show up, but sent a cryptic message to another member of staff that evening. She didn’t mention missing work. Then she didn’t show up to work on Thursday and then when she didn’t show up on Friday I reached out to her father in Australia. He told me the police had been alerted and is being dealt with by the missing persons unit.”
It is thought she was recently evicted from a flat share in the capital, and forced to live in the hostel. Referring to this issue, Joe added: “She wasn’t very happy with that situation which I can imagine so we were trying to assist her with finding something and we hadn’t made any progress with that.”
