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Man arrested over missing Britt Lapthorne
October 02, 2008
POLICE have arrested the son of a hostel owner in Croatia over the disappearance of Melbourne backpacker Britt Lapthorne, the Nine network reported.
Ivica Perkovic, whose father owns the backpacker's hostel where Britt, 21, was staying, has denied any involvement but was being held in cells at police headquarters in Dubrovnik.
Investigators aren't yet naming him as a suspect, Nine reported.
Mr Perkovic said he saw Britt on the night she was last seen.
"I was not the last person she saw. The only time I saw her was just for a few minutes. This was around the table at around 10pm that night," he said.
Police asked him about a phone call Britt made to his mobile phone, he said.
"There was one call and police interviewed me. There was one call found on her mobile phone, which is the official phone of the backpackers' hostel, so everyone ... has that phone."
Britt's father, Dale Lapthorne, began the journey to Croatia from Melbourne today to join the search.
"Practically I am not going to do a lot but I am not coming back until I've got my daughter," he said at Melbourne Airport.
A backpacker who shared a room with Britt at a Dubrovnik hostel said the Melbourne woman could have accepted a lift from the nightclub from a local.
"The only way for her to get back would have been to walk alone through dark unfamiliar streets or to catch a taxi or perhaps even to take a lift with a local," Lydia Hambrook told ABC Radio from Stockholm.
"Given how talkative she was and how trusting she seemed to be, I wouldn't rule that out as something she might have done."
Ms Hambrook said it took two days before the hostel owners were alerted to her disappearance.
It's been reported that more than 100 officers have been assigned to the case, including one of Croatia's most senior homicide detectives.
Investigators are focusing on what went on at Latino Club Fuego, where Britt was last seen on September 17.
Security cameras were reportedly not working the night she disappeared, despite having worked properly until the night before.
An Australian Senate delegation has met with Croatian leaders, and been told everything possible was being done to find Britt, although Mr Lapthorne said he was disappointed with the Australian Government's response.
"The Government is deafening in their silence, rest assured they will hear me, they will hear me from 15,000km away," he said.
"Our prime focus is our daughter and nothing else matters," he said.
Britt's boyfriend Simon Imberger is accompanying Mr Lapthorne to Croatia.
"If anyone knows anything at all, doesn't matter how small the detail is, it may help, so if you think you know anything step forward, we want to hear it," he said.
The family has repeatedly expressed frustration at the lack of assistance from consular officials to help in the search for Britt.
"Every time I've been in contact with (the) foreign affairs department you just get the same every time, 'blah, blah, blah' - that's not what I want to hear," Britt's mother Elka Lapthorne said.
Britt's brother Darren arrived in Dubrovnik last weekend, while an Australian Federal Police officer is in the city assisting with the investigation.
The Lapthorne family said they were willing to sell their Melbourne home to fund a C100,000 ($A177,935) reward for information leading to their daughter's safe return.
A Facebook page dedicated to finding Britt now has 12,601 members.
Britt's friend Tara Reynolds, who was travelling with her, has posted a message saying:
"Due to the nature of the sensitive situation at the moment I have temporarily made this group page private. Thank you to all who have posted on this site, you have all been wonderful in helping find Britt."
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