Chloe Mitchell: search goes on for missing County Antrim woman | Northern Ireland

A second man has been arrested by police investigating the disappearance of a County Antrim woman.

Chloe Mitchell, 21, from Ballymena was last seen on CCTV in the early hours of 3 June in Ballymena town centre.

A 34-year-old man was detained in the Ballymena area on Saturday morning.

A 26-year-old man was arrested in Lurgan, County Armagh, on Thursday in connection with the case. Police have been granted a 36-hour extension to his detention period.

Several of the searches have focused on the area around the Braid River in the County Antrim town. The Community Rescue Service has been assisting police in the operation.

Mitchell’s brother Phillip has urged anyone with information to contact the family. Asked by the BBC how much he was missing his sister, he said on Friday: “Words just can’t describe it, I am broke.”

On Friday, a senior police officer expressed hope Mitchell was safe and well. Supt Gillian Kearney said police were treating her as a “high-risk missing person”.

She said: “Police are becoming increasingly concerned about Chloe’s safety and we have launched a criminal investigation into her disappearance. It is completely out of character for her to not be in contact with her family, who are being supported by specialist officers during this worrying time.

“I am appealing to anyone who was travelling through the James Street area in Ballymena from 10pm on Friday 2 June, and 5.40pm on Thursday 8 June, to think if they saw Chloe or anything unusual. I would also appeal for anyone with dashcam footage during this period to bring it to police.”

“Chloe was last seen wearing a green and black Northface-style jacket, a white T-shirt, leggings and Nike trainers.”

About 70 to 80 volunteers with the Community Rescue Service were involved in Saturday’s searches where teams concentrated on thick undergrowth on the banks of the River Braid in Ballymena.

Darren Harper, a district commander with the Community Rescue Service, said the operation was challenging. “We have a substantial amount of volunteers on the ground at the minute,” he said.

“We are rotating them more frequently than what we usually we do, given the temperature here today – it’s about 19 to 20 degrees so it’s important that we rotate them and get them water on board and look after their welfare while maintaining the search.”

He praised the local community in Ballymena, which he said had been bringing food and drink down for the search volunteers. “The community has been absolutely fantastic,” he said.

The district commander insisted the volunteers were committed to continuing the search.

“We’re still looking for a high-risk missing person and we will continue until Chloe is located or until the police deem that we are no longer needed,” he said.

Mitchell was last seen by her family on Friday 2 June and was then captured on CCTV in the late hours of that day and the early hours of Saturday 3 June in Ballymena town centre.

She was walking in the direction of James Street in the town.