Missing Kayleigh's parents in plea for her to return home

Updated

The parents of a teenager who went missing at the weekend have issued a heartfelt plea for her to return home.

In a statement issued by Leicestershire Police, Stephanie Haywood and Martin Whitby described 15-year-old Kayleigh Haywood as a bubbly, loving, caring girl, and appealed for anyone with information to contact officers.

Kayleigh, from Measham, was last seen by her parents when she was dropped off outside her former school in Ibstock on Friday.

Appealing directly to Kayleigh, her parents said: "Your brothers and sister are missing you and just want you home. We all miss you so much especially Mertle, your little sister.

"Please come home, you're not in any trouble, we just want you back safe and sound. We just want our KJ home."

The statement was issued around six hours after detectives confirmed that a mobile phone thought to belong to Kayleigh had been found in the Ibstock area by a member of the public.

Search teams spent the day scouring the Sence Valley Forest Park, on the outskirts of Ibstock, as part of efforts to locate the teenager.

Meanwhile, magistrates have granted detectives a further 36 hours to hold and question two men - aged 27 and 28 - who were arrested in the early hours of Monday in connection with the disappearance.

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