Search for Jordan Cobb stands down for another evening

The search for Jordan Cobb has been stood down for the evening after an intense day involving dozen of emergency service experts.

The search for the Plymouth 16-year-old missing since he jumped off the Toroint Ferry on New Year's Eve will start again tomorrow.

From 10am today three RNLI Lifeboats and two MOD launches undertook searches in the area north of the Breakwater in Plymouth Sound.

They searched from Mount Edgcumbe to Jennycliff and up to the Hoe seafront. They continued up the River Tamar covering Millbrook, St John’s and up to the Tamar Bridge.

From 11am 10 police search team officers and 10 Coastguard volunteers from Looe, Tamar and Plymouth sections were deployed to conduct a search along the shore line in the folllowing locations:

• From the Royal Citadel along the Hoe seafront to Millbay Docks, Mayflower Marina and to Mount Wise (The dockyard was being searched by the MOD Police)

• From Barn Pool at Mount Edgcumbe around the coast to Cremyll and Millbrook.

• From Millbrook around to Inswork Point and up to St John’s.

• From St John’s to HMS Raleigh and around to the Torpoint Ferry.

• From the Torpoint Ferry to Yonderberry Point, Looking Glass Point and up to Jupiter Point.

At 4.20pm and RNAS Culdrose helicopter joined in the search and was able to search the mudflats at Millbrook and St John’s whilst it was low tide.

At 4.45pm, on completion of the helicopter search, all units were stood down for the evening due to low light.

Police and Coastguard will resume the search tomorrow.

Police divers are expected to search the river bed around the ferry in the morning, if the conditions are favourable.

Jordan was seen to jump from the Torpoint Ferry at around 9.15 pm on New Year's Eve and searches have been going on since that time.

The co-ordinated search today involves some 50 members of staff from the Coastguard, Devon and Cornwall Police and Ministry of Defence (MOD) Police and will include both sides of the river and the dockyard, taking advice from the force Lost Person Search Manager (LPSM).

A police spokesman said: "The public are asked to keep away from the foreshore - people have been onto the beach and out in boats and although we understand their willingness to help, it is not a safe environment and could hamper the coordinated search that is taking place."

Yesterday, as Jordan's friends made their own desperate search for the Stoke Damerel Community College pupil, the authorities returned to the area in daylight with specialist police search teams.

Detective Inspector Nick West yesterday met representatives from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to determine the most likely places Jordan could be.

"We took their advice on calculations as to where he might be if he's still in the water," Det Insp West said.

"Along with the area around the ferry, we were searching up to Millbrook and hamlets around there.

"We also ensured there was a police presence at the Tamar Bridge, where Jordan's friends congregated."

Det Insp West confirmed that investigators had spoken to friends of Jordan's who were with him when he jumped from the ferry at around 9.15pm on December 31.

It is understood Jordan and his pals were on their way to a New Year's Eve street party in the Torpoint area.

Det Insp West said officers had viewed CCTV footage from the ferry which showed a person diving from the vessel and into the water when it was still around 50 yards from docking.

However, the footage, combined with information offered to police by Jordan's friends, was "not conclusive" as to determining why the teenager had jumped.

Det Insp West said: "Our search teams have worked from the Torpoint ferry slipway down to and around Millbrook Lake and St John's Lake. These areas have high mudbanks and fast-flowing inlets.

"The search teams will have been looking under pontoons and boats which have settled into the mud as the tide has gone out as well as up the banks of numerous inlets.

"The family are being supported by us. Jordan's mum is understandably very distressed at the news. His father was out searching on Tuesday night until the quiet hours, walking around the area.

"He uses the river a lot, understands the currents and how the river works."

Alongside three police launches which swept the shoreline, river and lakes around the Hamoaze, the RNLI offered three of its own vessels to assist the search.

A spokesman for the charity said its inshore lifeboat, all-weather lifeboat and inflatable Y-class 'daughter' boat had all been called upon to continue the search.

Their crews were tasked to search around the Tamar Bridge and further up the river as well as down river and into the bay area.

The RNLI spokesman confirmed they had been requested to continue the search by police yesterday "until the light fades".

A spokesman for Brixham Coastguard said its crews had "exhausted all avenues", having "saturated the area" on Tuesday.

The spokesman said its own officers had since been liaising closely with police – who were now heading the missing person search – giving assistance and expert advice on possible locations of Jordan.

Ministry of Defence (MoD) police continued to carry out searches throughout Tuesday night and yesterday saw two MoD police launches – the Integrity and Excalibur – join the multi-agency search. The search was also joined by Dorset Police's own helicopter, which was used to scour the area.

FRIENDS VOW TO KEEP SEARCHING FOR JORDAN

FRIENDS of missing Jordan Cobb have vowed not to give up their own search until the teenager is found.

About 20 people spent more than five hours scouring the shoreline near the Tamar Bridge yesterday.

Last night, as police continued to investigate, Jordan’s devastated friends told The Herald they would not give up.

His girlfriend, 16-year-old Savanah Rich, had been travelling on another ferry behind the one Jordan jumped from on New Year’s Eve.

“We are determined to keep searching for him,” she said last night.

“We know that as time goes on it becomes less and less likely, but we are still hoping that we can find something.

“Everyone has been so supportive and we will keep pushing on.”

The unofficial search party, made up of several of Jordan’s school friends, gathered at the bridge at 11am yesterday.

Police officers warned them to leave the job to the authorities, but they crossed the bridge on foot and headed down to the water.

They split up into two groups and scoured the area under the bridge before walking into Saltash.

As the rain began to fall they headed for Devils Point, south of the ferry crossing.

They only stopped for the day when darkness fell.

The friends’ search was set to resume this morning, with plans to widen the area to Millbrook, Devonport, Mount Batten, Whitsand Bay, St Budeaux, Plymouth Hoe and Stonehouse Creek.

Jordan’s pal Danni Hopkins, aged 15, said: “We’ve stuck together since we’ve heard about it, telling each other to stay strong.

“He’s such a lovely, nice lad.

“He was always there for us and now we need to be there for him.”

She added: “I am pretty upset. I have not slept since we found out what happened. We miss him so much. We would give anything to find him.

“It is just so sad that this has happened.

“We need to find him. We won’t give up until we do.”

Sixteen-year-old Liam Manley said: “You have always got to stay hopeful.

“You can’t jump to conclusions straight away.”

Connor Crocker, 17, added: “We are all just in shock really. It is not often something like this happens to a young lad.

“He is a giving lad, he would give anything for anyone.

“He is caring, he is friendly and he is strong.

“We have got to keep our hopes up.”