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Thursday, 21 February, 2002, 12:46 GMT
Father 'pleased' with police meeting
Phil and Kathleen Kerton
Mr Kerton wants a murder inquiry to be launched
The father of missing British nurse Louise Kerton said a meeting by German, Belgian and British police to discuss her disappearance was "a definite move forward."

The meeting in Margate, Kent, followed an unsuccessful attempt by German officers to turn the matter into a criminal investigation.

Ms Kerton's father, Phil, from New Ash Green, Kent, has searched tirelessly for his daughter since she went missing last July.

Mr Kerton said: "It seems to indicate that they had a long day of discussions and that they intend to move forward.

Louise Kerton
Ms Kerton was last seen at a station in Germany
"I was pleased with the result. Things like this don't happen at the drop of a hat and this is a definite move forward."

Ms Kerton, a former classmate of Lucie Blackman who was murdered in Japan, went missing on 30 July last year.

The 24-year-old lived with her fianc� Peter Simon in Broadstairs, Kent - she was last seen at Aachen railway station in Germany, where Mr Simon's mother dropped her off.

The police inquiry was scaled back after reported sightings of Ms Kerton with a Polish immigrant living in homeless hostels in Aachen.

Kent Police have now asked the German representatives to set up a meeting between Kent's assistant chief constable and a senior German officer of similar rank to look into ways of progressing the inquiry.

'Every action'

In a statement Kent Police said: "All three forces have pledged a commitment to taking every action possible under the laws of the respective countries to discover the whereabouts of Louise.

"The German police have already made applications to the German public prosecution service to treat Louise's disappearance as a criminal investigation.

To date these applications have failed in spite of all the information passed to them by Kent Police."

Mr Kerton, who has hired formal royal protection chief Dai Davies to look into his daughter's disappearance, has put forward a number of lines of inquiry to each force that he says have not been investigated.


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