Police took two days to look into a sighting of Mansfield teenager Amber Peat before she was found dead, investigators say.
The 13-year-old’s body was discovered in bushes close to her home on the town’s Ladybrook estate on June 2.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is examining how Notts Police handled the search for her.
An initial assessment, which has now been published by investigators, says police got a call on May 31 about a girl matching Amber’s description heading into the patch of undergrowth.
The caller rang the day after spotting her, apparently only realising the sighting’s significance later.
But the report was not followed up for 48 hours, when Amber’s body was found in the bushes by officers.
Amber’s disappearance was at first classed as “medium risk” by Notts Police, but the IPCC also says it should have been classified as “high risk” from the start.
The assessment adds: “I note that the intelligence although received on 31 May 2015 was not acted upon until 2 June, given that this information led to the discovery of Amber’s body it will be for the investigation to identify the delay in this case.”
Picture: dozens of tributes were left by members of the public close to the spot where Amber was found.
The schoolgirl went missing after a family row, sparking a massive two-day search involving both police and members of the public.
Both a serious case review and an inquest are also running separate investigations into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
A post mortem examination ruled hanging was the cause of Amber’s death, which is not being treated as suspicious.
A Notts Police spokesman said: “This is not in any way a report from the IPCC nor a draft report, it is the initial referral paperwork sent to the IPCC by the force in the days following Amber Peat’s death.
“As a result the correspondence does not represent the current factual position of the IPCC.”
The IPCC stressed its investigation is ongoing. It added in statement: “The investigation has not reached any conclusions as to whether the response was appropriate or not in the circumstances”
