AMBER PEAT - Body found after desperate appeal from parents.

A body has tonight been discovered which is believed to be that of missing Mansfield schoolgirl Amber Peat.

A brief statement issued tonight (Tuesday June 2) by Nottinghamshire Police said a body had been discovered and that the 13-year-old’s family has been informed.

The body was discovered in a hedgerow in the Ladybrook area while hundreds of volunteers scoured the area looking for the teenager.

In an updated statement, released after the initial revelation, police said they are not treating the death as suspicious.

Tragic: Amber PeatTragic: Amber Peat
Tragic: Amber Peat

The news comes after a desperate appeal from the youngster’s parents today at a press conference organised by police.

The youngster stormed out of the family home on Bosworth Street on Saturday evening following an argument and has not been seen since.

The family had just returned from a holiday in Cornwall.

Police say they are now ‘seriously concerned’ about her safety.

Amber’s mother, Kelly Peat (34) and step-father Danny Peat (31) both fought back tears and looked dazed and tired during a press conference in Mansfield yesterday.

Danny said: “Just come home, just let us know you are safe.

“We all just had a brilliant holiday, and this is just not right.

“We all had a fantastic time and she (Amber) never stopped laughing.

“If she is anywhere, please let us know.”

Amber, a pupil at Queen Elizabeth’s Academy, had the argument with her parents after she told to clean out her cool box in which she had kept sandwiches from the holiday to the south coast.

That was the last conversation they had with her.

Kelly said she heard the front door slam and when she went to check, there was no sign of Amber.

She took no money and does not have a mobile phone. Her parents said that she was not allowed to use social media sites, so it was unlikely that she may have spoken to someone over the internet about running away.

Her parents do not think she had a boyfriend, and police had been busy quizzing her friends and schoolmates.

Her biological father also lives in Scotland, but police said they had already followed up a line of inquiry that she may have headed north across the border.

Kelly and Danny said she was not in contact with him.

They described her as being a ‘girly girl’, and outgoing youngster who loves singing, dancing and reading.

The family had only moved to the Mansfield area from Tibshelf last year.

Police revealed on Sunday that they had begun searching for Amber, and by Monday hundreds of people from the Ladybrook area where she lived had formed their own search parties.

Groups of men, women and children have knocked on residents’ doors and delivered hundreds of posters and leaflets.

In a statement issued tonight, police thanked the people of Mansfield for their help.

Danny said that the family were grateful for the help and to the community spirit that has emerged.

He added: “We have not lived here that long, it’s overwhelming the amount of people who are out there. We just want to thank them.

“I’m her step father but she will always be my little girl.”

Meanwhile, Supt Matt McFarlane, who is heading the inquiry, outlined the police’s growing concerns when he spoke before the body was discovered.

He said: “We have had no confirmed sightings of her, we’ve had no sightings since 5.30pm on Saturday, which is pretty unusual for a 13-year-old.

“You would not expect a 13-year-old to be missing for this length of time, this is vulnerable young girl.

“We are seriously concerned about her whereabouts.

“She has never done anything like this before, it is totally out of character.

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