Cambodian officials looking for Amelia Bambridge, the British woman missing on Koh Rong island since Thursday, are focusing their search on fishing boats and have interviewed three men about her disappearance.
Bambridge, 21, from Sussex, was last seen at around 3am on Thursday at a beach party. Nearly 150 Cambodian officials plus seven volunteers have been searching the island and surrounding areas since Saturday.
Three men, believed to be Cambodians, were placed in handcuffs by police on the island on Monday and taken for questioning.
Volunteer search party organisers said it was common for local police to handcuff people without arresting them. A Koh Rong official working with police told the Guardian that there had been no arrests related to the search.
Officers told Ben Warner, who is leading the volunteer search team, that the three men had not been linked to the party Bambridge was believed to have gone missing from. CCTV showed that she arrived at the event at around 2am, but she was not filmed leaving.
The Guardian understands that at least one of the three men worked at a hostel on Koh Rong. On Monday Harry Bambridge, Amelia’s brother, was accompanied by police as he searched the man’s possessions in the hostel.
Harry has complained about a lack of support from the British government regarding the search but said he the family met with police in the HQ in Sihanoukville this morning, writing on social media: “Everyone’s (Cambodian officials) said that they’re not going to stop until she’s found, so I feel a little bit more positive.”
On Monday, Amelia’s father, Phil, had said he was losing hope she would be found alive.
Sniffer dogs from Phnom Penh are expected to arrive on Koh Rong on Tuesday to help with the search, andextra boats are being dispatched from Sihanoukville for the ocean search.
Officials and volunteers have placed added focus on checking fishing boats that may have recently been near Police Beach, where Bambridge went missing. Her backpack, containing items including her bank cards and phone, was found on rocks by the beach on Thursday morning.
Warner said: “We’re running out of areas where we can look on land, so we’re trying to look at ways that she could have got off the island.”
Laura Link, volunteer search team co-leader, appealed for anyone with photos showing boats around Police Beach to contact her.
A police spokesperson said: “At this point it’s still an all-area search. They’re searching under the rocks in the ocean and on top of the ocean, but now they want to get in the jungle. All departments are here today: police, navy, military.”
Ryan Harris, 18, from Worcester, travelled to Koh Rong with Amelia Bambridge on 19 October after befriending her in Phnom Penh. He spent Monday with her family on the island, and appealed to anyone with information to contact him.
“We’re appealing for information from anyone who was at the party then [Wednesday night] or in the last few months, anyone who might have seen anything sketchy or suspicious,” Harris said.
“The family are doing well considering the circumstances. They just want to know what happened, same as everyone else.”
