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SALT IN THE WOUND
Our daughter, 19, suddenly disappeared on night out with pal – then cops RAIDED our house twice ‘looking for a body’
Reagan disappeared while going for a wee
POLICE officers raided a family home multiple times during the search for a missing teenager before her body was found in a lake, The Sun can reveal.
Reagan Brown, 19, disappeared on the evening of May 6 after meeting a friend at Leazes Park in Newcastle.
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They had been sitting on a bench when Reagan went behind some bushes for a wee around 9.30pm but never came back.
Her remains were found two days later.
Reagan’s parents Frank and Teena Brown have criticised cops for their lack of communication amid the case, describing how they “begged” Northumbria Police for updates.
Two arrests have been made as the force’s inquiries continue - though police say they do not believe the death itself was suspicious.
Officers searched their home in Hexham twice in the hours after the teenager was reported missing.
Teena claimed: “They even had drones following us about.”
Frank said cops raided the home on May 7 and 8, adding: “They were actually here when they got the message they’d pulled a body from the lake.”
'THEY WERE LOOKING FOR A BODY'
The couple say they had been told to stay at home in case Reagan suddenly turned up alive.
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Referring to the raids, Teena said: “They were looking for a body…I’m being honest.
“They were looking for letters to see if it had been a suicide. They were looking in the bushes and in bins and stuff.
“I actually said ‘oh my god, you’re looking for a body’. They were saying ‘we’ve got to’. And I get that…they suspect the family first.”
The devastated parents - who also share kids Shaina, 25, and Tyler, 18 - are appealing for anyone who may have seen anything, and are convinced their daughter was attacked.
Referring to the police, Frank said: “They are trying to tell us it’s an accident."
However, on one occasion when an officer came to the house, Frank says he said: "Come on, do you not think there’s something dodgy going on here?"
And he claims the officer "looked at us" then said: "Yeah, we do but our hands are tied."
Frank added: “What does that mean? Your hands are tied, you’re the police.”
Teena said: “I think there was foul play. There has to be someone that knows something. It was a nice, lovely night. They’re saying she drowned. She’s 5ft 8, the water only goes up to her chest. She can swim.
“There’s no current in this lake. There’s no big fish that could eat her or pull her under, as far as I’m aware, it’s crazy.”
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The couple say they have asked cops if they can have access to CCTV to scour it themselves and have even suggested doing a reconstruction to “jog people’s memories”.
“They said they were going to do one, but nothing has happened,” said Teena.
They even claim police confirmed a body had been found in the search for Reagan on Facebook before even informing them.
Frank said: “They’ve told us not to put anything on social media or to involve the press, but we found out on social media that it was Reagan’s body…
“The liaison officer drove back to the house because they were fuming. They said this never happens. It was starting to feel a bit personal.”
Teena also said none of Reagan’s belongings have been returned to them, including a necklace.
“They ended up losing her stuff,” she explained. “They say they’ve found it now, including her necklace, but we haven’t seen anything.”
Frank added: “She turned up at the funeral home just in a shroud, and the funeral director said that’s unheard of as well.”
The couple have even had to contend with a troll - who apparently knew Reagan - making disparaging remarks on social media.
Frank said: “He started putting photos up of Reagan’s coffin with laughing faces all over it and saying how embarrassing it was and cringey...
“I ended up having a whole conversation about it with him and he was just a horrible human being.”
He reported the man to the police. He said: “They didn’t do anything about that. I thought that was a crime nowadays.”
Teena said: “We just feel like there has to be someone out there that knows something or heard of something, or any little snippet of anything.
“I wish we hadn’t listened to the police and we’d just put an appeal out there at the start. It’s my biggest regret ever.”
Describing the night Reagan went missing, Teena said she’d been at work all day before meeting her friend.
“The next thing we know we get a phone call from the friend and she says she can’t find Reagan and she’s gone missing and that’s that,” she explained.
“The police had been phoned. I think this was half 10 on the Monday night. Reagan had maybe gone to the toilet at half nine and her friend had waited an hour.”
They understand there is little CCTV coverage of the park, but that it would’ve still been quite light while Reagan was there.
Frank said: “The whole of the top of her head was blue, you couldn’t miss her.”
Teena said: “It was too nice of a night, you don’t just walk into shallow water and drown. She would have to have been thrashing about. How did nobody hear that? There’s homeless people that live in that park. Has everyone even been asked?”
Do you know more? Contact Frank and Teena at [email protected]
Teena said: “I feel like they (the police) are trying to close the case, but we’re arguing how can you do that when we have so many unanswered questions. I truly believe witnesses will come forward.”
She said it was “totally surreal” after hearing Reagan was missing, as it was completely out of character for her not to keep them informed of what she was doing.
The couple ruled out suicide as their daughter was working at Tesco to save up for going traveling in Australia next year and planned to buy a horse.
Teena said: “I don’t want people to think she was just a young lass drinking in the park… She was a lovely girl and had her whole life ahead of her.”
A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "Our thoughts remain firmly with the family and friends of Reagan Brown following her tragic death in May 2024.
"We are carrying out a full investigation into Reagan’s death, which remains ongoing.
";As part of our enquiries two people in their 20s were arrested and are currently released under investigation.
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"One was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs and the second on suspicion of threats to kill."
The force did not wish to comment further regarding the family's claims.
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