Murder arrest in connection with Helen Bailey disappearance

Police searching for the missing author Helen Bailey have arrested a man on suspicion of murder, according to news reports.

According to the BBC, a 55-year-old man from Royston, Hertfordshire, is being questioned on suspicion of murder, disposing of a body and the theft of Ms. Bailey’s money.

Bailey was first reported missing in April. Police re-appealed for information in May, saying the author had “simply disappeared”.

Chief Inspector for North Herts, Julie Wheatley, said at the time: “This is a highly unusual case in the fact that Helen seems to have simply disappeared. We literally have no trace of her despite extensive searches and inquiries which have been on-going since she was reported missing.”

North Herts police said a woman matching Helen’s description was seen walking her dog in Heathfield and on the pathway between Baldock Road and Green Drift in Royston on the afternoon of 11th April. However, there was “no trace” of Helen, despite officers checking hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and conducting specialist searches around her home address.

Bailey was the author of the Electra Brown series (Hodder Children’s Books) and founded the Planet Grief blog, which she set up after her husband drowned on holiday in 2011.