Cops admit it could take ‘months’ to identify Middle Eastern pair who tried to abduct RAF man
Police have received more than 500 calls from the public
TWO men who tried to abduct an RAF serviceman at knifepoint remain at large despite police receiving more than 500 calls from the public.
The suspects - who are thought to be part of a larger team - attacked the serviceman, who is in his 20s, while he was jogging near RAF Marham near Kings Lynn, Norfolk.
Fortunately the victim was able to fight them off, even headbutting one of his assailants which allowed him to escape unharmed from the isolated scene.
A month on from the attack on July 20, the police have received around 550 calls from the public, with approximately 350 relating specifically e-fits of the men.
But despite a significant response from the public, there have been no confirmed sightings of the suspects or the dark coloured vehicle the tried to bundle the serviceman into.
Police said it will take months to go through all CCTV from the scene.
Leading the investigation, Detective Superintendent Paul Durham, said: "We are still undertaking a significant enquiry and our approach remains the same.
"I stated from the outset this would be a lengthy enquiry due to the remoteness of the location and sporadic nature of CCTV in the area. This means we've had to widen our search and naturally this work, when done thoroughly, takes time.
"CCTV remains a key focus of our enquiry and between 50 and 60 hours has been viewed; I appreciate this might not sound a lot but examining footage in great detail takes time.
"Footage is being viewed frame-by-frame - that's the level of detail we are looking at and there's equally as much to review.
"The victim is continuing to receive support and remains off work as he comes to terms with this traumatic ordeal.
"I'm confident we will get to the bottom of this case. It's going to be old fashioned detective work which gets the breakthrough and that could take several months."
A 60-strong team of detectives, 50 from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team and 10 from the Metropolitan Police Service Counter Terrorism Command, are working on the case.
Police are specifically appealing to anyone who was driving in Marham on the day of the incident to come forward regardless of whether they witnessed anything.
Det Supt Durham explained: "We know through the CCTV work that there's a number of people travelling in Marham on the day of the incident between 2.55pm and 3.15pm, specifically on Squires Hill, Ladywood Road and Burnthouse Road areas, who haven't come forward.
"This could be because they didn't see anything they felt was significant, but whether they witnessed anything untoward or not, I would urge these people to come forward with their vehicle details so we can rule them out of our enquiries."
One suspect is described as of Middle Eastern appearance, between 20 and 30 years old, approximately 6ft (1.8m) tall, with a well-groomed beard.
The second man, who is of similar appearance, is slightly younger, about 5ft 10in (1.78m) tall and was clean-shaven with short, dark hair.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.