New witness in Danielle hunt

Police have set up a mobile incident room for the inquiry

Police investigating the disappearance of Danielle Jones have revealed a possible new sighting of the missing teenager.

A woman has told detectives that a girl matching the 15-year-old's description was seen with a man in a blue Transit van on the morning she disappeared.

The van was spotted driving along London Road in Grays, Essex, heading away from the town towards the Lakeside area of Thurrock.

Police say the sighting has given them "quite a jump forward".

Danielle was last seen at about 0800BST on Monday 18 June.

Danielle: Last seen seven weeks ago

The witness told officers the girl was sitting in the front passenger seat of the van, which is said to be a type of navy-blue in colour.

The man is described as white, aged in his 30s, with a strong-looking build and neat, short dark hair.

Police said the description of the van matched evidence given by previous witnesses.

Inspector Alan Cook said: "This is an unconfirmed sighting of someone fitting Danielle's description. We are not 100% certain that it is her.

"It's extremely significant because it's the first sighting outside the East Tilbury area on the same day but a bit later on.

"It's also significant that the blue van is making an appearance again."

Positive sightings

He said there had been a confirmed sighting of the teenager talking to a man in a blue van.

"We don't know what happened at the end of the conversation or if she walked away, but here in Gray's Road a couple of hours later someone is saying they've seen a similar van with loads to link it," he said.

"It's quite a jump forward for us really."

Danielle's parents have appealed for information

Several possible sightings of 15-year-old Danielle in the same area at that time have already been reported to detectives.

There have been only three other positive sightings of Danielle since she was last seen - all on the morning of her disappearance.

Two male schoolfriends said they saw her leave home and make a sudden about-turn, believing she was going to the local shop on her way to the bus.

An adult witness said he saw Danielle standing on the corner of Bure Road and Coronation Road the same morning.

Last Friday police revealed a witness saw Danielle talking to the male driver of a dark blue Transit type van while she was standing on a pavement.

Other witnesses have said they saw a girl fitting Danielle's description getting into a dark blue Transit style van, and a girl who looked like her having a confrontation with a van driver in his mid-30s.