Woman, 60, arrested on suspicion of child abduction after girl, 8, disappeared from outside school

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of child abduction after an eight year old girl went missing from outside a school in Blackpool.

Darcy Shea, was found “safe and well” on Friday, Lancashire Police said, after she was reportedly taken from St Cuthbert’s Primary School.

A 60 year-old woman accused of abducting her remains in custody, the force said.

Darcy was found in the resort following multiple appeals to the public for information on her whereabouts.

Prior to her discovery, Superintendent Becky Smith of Lancashire Police had said that while there had been no suggestion that she was “at any immediate risk”, police were “growing more and more concerned about her welfare as time goes on”.

Supt Smith had urged anyone who saw anything suspicious at the school on Friday morning or who spotted Darcy with an older woman to get in touch immediately.

In an update on Friday afternoon, the force said: “Further to our earlier appeals, Darcy, missing from Blackpool, has been found safe and well in the resort this afternoon.

“A 60-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of child abduction and is in custody.

“Thank you to everyone who shared our appeals for information.”