THE DISAPPEARANCE of a black woman who has been missing for a month has led women’s rights campaigners to call for more media attention over the heart-wrenching case.

Owami Davies, 24, was last seen in Greys, Essex on 4 July and was captured on CCTV with a man in west-Croydon three days later. 

Five arrests were made, including three on suspicion of kidnap and two on suspicion of murder.

All of the suspects have since been released on bail.

Met detectives said they have looked at hours of CCTV footage in the search for the missing woman.

Ngozi Fulani, the Chief Executive of Sistah Space, a domestic and sexual abuse charity that supports African and Caribbean women, criticised the absence of mainstream media coverage around Ms Davies compared to other missing person cases.

“I’ve made reference to other people that have gone missing and Sarah [Everard] is an example. I don’t look at colour charts and say should I be concerned about this person over, whether she’s too light or too dark. 

“As a human being somebody has gone missing, that’s somebody’s child, but with Sarah they covered  it constantly. There were people even telling me last night that they didn’t need to know that thisblack woman had gone missing. What’s the difference between her and Sarah? The colour of her skin.”

Everard – a 33-year-old marketing executive – was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a serving Met police officer in March 2021.

The tragic case sparked national debate about violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the UK.

The missing person cases of Blessing Olusegun, 21, who was found dead on a beach in Bexhill in September 2020 and sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman failed to garner the same public outcry, Ms Fulani said, as police continue to search for the missing black woman. 

Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney, who is leading the investigation, said: “The sheer scale of this inquiry shows how concerned we are for the safety of Owami. With every day that passes that concern only grows and our fear increases that she has come to harm.

Although this is a missing person enquiry, this is one of the biggest investigations I have ever experienced and that reflects our determination to find Owami for her family.

“Owami has now been missing for over a month and her family are desperate for news. We are keeping them fully informed, but finding Owami is the only thing that will bring them any peace and for that we need the public’s help.

“I want to thank the public for all the support we have already received, but I continue to appeal for anything that could assist our inquiry. Please call if you have any information – do not talk yourself out of telling us what you know.

“If you think you may have information about Owami, trust your instincts and call.”

Ms Davies, a student nurse, was in her final year of studies at King’s College London before vanishing. 

Her mother, Nicol Davies, says she hopes to hear news from her daughter every day and pleaded with the public to contact the police with any information they may have on her whereabouts. 

“There are many friends and family who love and care for Owami and all of them want to see her safe return. Owami – if you see this appeal please believe you are not in any trouble, we just want you to come back to us.

“Please leave a message if you can to let us know you are okay, we are so very worried about you. This is such a terrible time for all those who love Owami and I am pleading for anyone who can help find her to contact police.

“Every day we hope to hear the news that Owami is coming back to us, your help might make it so.”

News of Ms Davies disappearance has been shared widely by charities like Sistah Space and other organisations specialising in support for black women and girls, but Ms Fulani believes that the response from white-led charities hasn’t been the same. 

“There’s a clear message to the women: black Lives don’t matter. There’s a clear message to the perpetrator: black lives don’t matter. 

“It’s obvious with the mainstream media that black lives don’t matter. But above all, the the violence against women and girls sector, I’ve looked on many ot of their websites [the charities supporting women], you get one or two posts and then they go off to someone else…if you go to their website here you have to scroll down for two and a half years before you see anybody loosely resembling black people.

“These people were organising marches, standing up [for injustice against women] but when it comes to black women there is nothing.”

She added: “There are those of us who are in pain with the family and disgusted by the lack of response from the media and other sources. And if there is anything we can do to actually aid or support the family, please let us know.”

Anyone with information is being urged to call the incident room on 020 8721 4622 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org