Libby Squire: Sister of butcher held over missing student reveals he comforted her on night she vanished - but insists he's innocent

A butcher arrested on suspicion of abducting missing student Libby Squire stopped to help her when he spotted her crying at the side of the road, his sister has told The Telegraph.

Married father of two Paweł Rełowicz was arrested on Wednesday night, at his rented home in Hull, just half a mile from where Miss Squire disappeared.

The 24-year-old, a Polish national who works as a butcher in Malton, North Yorkshire, allegedly offered to give her a lift home when he spotted her in a distressed state just after midnight.

Speaking to the Telegraph, his sister Paulina Szymanska, said he had spoken to Miss Squire on the night, but insisted he had nothing to do with her disappearance.

She said: "I don't believe my brother could do it. We were raised to be good people. He was driving and he stopped because he noticed a girl crying.

"She asked him to take her home, so he put her address into his sat nav and wanted to do just that. Apparently she threw herself at him, but he pushed her away because he is a married man."

As detectives continued to question Mr Relowicz, officers stepped up searches taking place at the Oak Road playing fields, close to Miss Squire's university home.

The area, which backs onto the River Hull, had previously been searched but on Thursday afternoon teams of officers returned to the scene in numbers.

For the first time since the search began, officers cordoned off areas of the park, including one section of path running next to the river and another in the area surrounding a fishing pond.

A specialist marine unit has previously waded through the icy waters of the pond to search for any clues as to Miss Squire's disappearance.

The 21-year-old philosophy and religion student was last seen late on Thursday night sat on a bench close to her home on Wellesley Avenue.

She had earlier been refused entry at a nightclub in the city centre for being drunk and had travelled home in a taxi.

But instead of going indoors once she arrived home, she walked to the junction of Beverley Road and Haworth Street where she sat down on a bench.

She was last seen on CCTV at around 11.40pm but is thought to have still been at the same spot until shortly after midnight.

Following Mr Rwlowicz’s arrest, detectives towed away his silver Vauxhall Astra car.

They were also seen removing computer equipment from the smart terraced house where he has lived for more than year.

Despite the arrest, Humberside Police said the investigation remained a missing person inquiry and their priority remained to locate Miss Squire.

Friends and neighbours of Mr Relowicz expressed shock at his arrest, describing him as a quiet man who was devoted to his young family.

Brought up in the town of Chelmza in north eastern Poland, Mr Relowicz, who is one of eight children, moved to the UK in 2014.

After qualifying as a chef, he followed one of his sisters to the UK where she was working for a meat company in Hull.

Ms Szymanska said: "He never really had any male friends. There was always a women in his life. Before his wife, he was seeing another girl for 5 years and was completely devoted to her."

He worked at the Karro Food Company in Malton, North Yorkshire where he was employed as a butcher and is believed to have met his future wife at the plant when she began working there in December 2014.

The couple got engaged the following year and had a son in July 2016. They got married last June and had a second son in October.

Mr Relowicz's landlord, who asked not be named, described him as a pleasant, polite family man, who had never caused any problems during his tenancy.

He said: "He is very much a family man from what I know. The house is always clean and tidy and the rent is always paid on time."

A former tenant at the property said Mr Relowicz had moved in with his young family in 2017.

He said: "Their English wasn't that good so they weren't that talkative."

Hairdresser Iwona Reczulska, who knows the couple, said: "I last saw Pawel about two weeks ago on Friday or Saturday. He was his normal self and was chatting about his kids as he normally did.

"I remember when his wife became pregnant with their first child, how happy and excited he was about becoming a father. He works five days a week at a bacon factory in Malton.

"He's not one to go out drinking, he always tells me that he likes to spend weekends at home with the family."

A spokesman for Humberside Police said: “The man remains in our custody, assisting us with our inquiries. We have not yet found Libby and doing so remains our top priority.

"Libby's parents have been informed of the man's arrest and we're continuing to support them at this difficult time."