London police arrested one of their own officers on suspicion of murder over the disappearance of a 33-year-old woman

• Sarah Everard, 33, was last seen in Clapham, south London, at 9:30 p.m. on March 3.
• On Tuesday, London police arrested a serving officer on suspicion of kidnap over the disappearance.
• The force said on Wednesday he was arrested on suspicion of murder.

The London Metropolitan Police has arrested one of its own officers on suspicion of kidnap and murder following the disappearance of a 33-year-old woman, the force said in statements Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sarah Everard, 33, has been missing since leaving a friend's apartment in Clapham, south London, on March 3.

The arrested man is a serving officer in his 40s and works in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, based in Westminster, the Met's Wednesday statement said. The force added that the man is also arrested on suspicion of a separate allegation of indecent exposure.

"The arrest this evening is a serious and significant development," Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave said in the Tuesday statement.

"We will continue to work with all speed on this investigation but the fact that the arrested man is a serving Metropolitan Police officer is both shocking and deeply disturbing."

Everard, who works as a marketing executive, was last seen on security footage walking from a friend's house in Claphan to her home in Brixton at around 9:30 p.m., the Met said in a statement last Friday.

Everard's family said the disappearance was "totally out of character," Kent Live reported.

Ephgrave, the assistant commissioner, told reporters on Wednesday the officer was arrested in Kent, as was a woman.

He added that the officer was not on duty at the time of Everard's disappearance.

The force did not name the arrested officer, but The Sun newspaper has identified him as Wayne Couzens.

A Met spokesman declined to comment on the report, telling Insider on Wednesday it does not confirm the identities of arrested people.

On Tuesday, Met officers cordoned off and searched an apartment block in Tulse Hill, near Brixton.

On Wednesday, officers searched a woodland near Deal, a town in Kent, Kent Live reported.