Missing teen: £10,000 reward pledged

Leanne Tiernan went missing in November

A businessman has offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of missing teenager Leanne Tiernan.

The 16-year-old was last seen on 26 November while returning home with a friend to Bramley from a shopping trip in Leeds.

The reward has been put forward by father-of-three Shaun Clarke, from Scarcroft, Leeds.

E-fit: Police want to question this man

He said he felt compelled to do something for the parents of the schoolgirl after watching television pictures of her father putting presents for his missing daughter under a Christmas tree.

"I was very moved because at the same time I was sorting out my presents for my kids," he said.

"I felt frustrated and after thinking it through I decided to offer the reward because somebody somewhere is going to pass that information on to the parents or the police."

Leanne's mother made a tearful appeal on Thursday for help in finding her daughter.

"I want my daughter home for Christmas," said Sharon Hawkhead, 39.

"The last 25 days have been dreadful. I've lurched from despair to hysteria but I know we have got to keep going."

Vital clues

She said she believed her daughter would have been in touch by now had she been able.

"If somebody has her against her will, for God's sake, let her go," she said.

She also renewed her appeal for potential eyewitnesses to come forward.

"You might think the information is irrelevant but it could provide a vital clue," she said.

Police have released an e-fit of a man spotted walking his dog in the Hughley Gill area one hour before Leanne got off a bus on her journey home.

The man is described as being 5ft8ins and of stocky build with a round, reddish face that may possibly be scarred.

Family appeal for help

He was wearing a black woollen hat, a three-quarter-length waterproof jacket and dirty jeans.

The e-fit's release follows a reconstruction of Leanne's last known movements and a massive search involving police dogs, divers, moorland search teams and a helicopter.

Police have conducted house-to-house inquiries at 955 addresses and carried out more than 1,000 searches as part of their investigations.

A police reconstruction undertaken by Leanne's sister Michelle, 19, failed to yield any clues about her disappearance.

Leanne wore a navy blue casual woollen Ellesse jacket, black and cream ribbed polo neck jumper and black trousers and boots when she disappeared.

One problem facing searchers has been that the area where Leanne was last seen features a very varied terrain, with more than 700 houses, as well as canals, woodland, open areas, drainage shafts and wells.