Shevaun is safe in UK after arrest

Missing schoolgirl Shevaun Pennington has been found safe and well, police confirmed today.

Superintendent Peter Mason told reporters she was with Greater Manchester Police officers in the UK.

The news emerged soon after the former US Marine who disappeared with her was arrested in Germany.

Toby Studabaker, 31, was detained in Frankfurt in a joint operation involving Greater Manchester Police, the German authorities and the FBI.

The arrest came after police sources revealed that the authorities involved in the hunt for Studabaker had found child pornography downloaded from the internet on to a computer used by him.

Police also said that they had evidence that the former soldier did know Shevaun’s real age, despite his claims in calls to his family in the US that she had told him she was 19.

Police searching for the pair had asked media not to refer to these facts while the hunt continued in case it jeopardised the operation.

They also asked media to stop referring to previous child abuse allegations faced by Studabaker.