London oil exec with prostitution links presumed murdered

Police said they are now treating the disappearance of Carole Waugh as a murder inquiry, although no body has been found.

“We now believe that Carole has not been seen alive since 16 April,” said Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane, refusing to provide details.

“Significant plundering of her estate has taken place to the value of hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

Police said there is a possibility that Ms Waugh worked as a high class escort and they are checking internet sites she may have used for online dating or for advertising her services.

She lived alone in a central London flat in Marylebone. Last night, police arrested a 47-year-old man as he arrived at Luton airport. He is suspected of murder and of posing as her brother.

Ms Waugh’s Cartier jewellery went missing after her disappearance, thousands of pounds were withdrawn from her bank account and a man posing as a relative inquired at a local estate agent about selling or renting her flat.

Among the missing personal items were a Cartier ring (see photo, right), a white gold bracelet, a yellow gold bracelet and a yellow gold necklace.

Missing jewellery

“Carole wore the jewellery regularly and I appeal to anyone may have been offered such jewellery or has any knowledge of its whereabouts to contact us with information,” said Mr McFarlane.

The man arrested at Luton airport was being held in a south London police station. He is one of 10 people arrested and questioned since Miss Waugh’s family reported her missing 7 May.

Ms Waugh, originally from Durham, worked as a finance executive for seven years at Veba Oil in Libya during the reign of Colonel Gaddafi. Her employers told reporters she left in a hurry without saying goodbye. She returned to the UK in 2008 and lived alone in the £650,000 mews flat.

“We are all very proud of my sister. We are from a mining community in the northeast and Carole wanted to improve herself and take any opportunities that life offered her,” Ms Waugh’s brother Chris said.

Gang abduction?

One theory is that Ms Waugh was abducted by a gang who forced her to reveal bank account details and Pins for her cards.

There was a report of her shopping in central London on 4 May, but that was not confirmed. She had been planning a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday.

Detectives say at least three women have tried to impersonate her – one at the Westfield shopping centre in west London on July 13.

“We’ve established that there have been at least three women impersonating her at various locations, at various financial institutions and other premises,” DCI McFarlane said.

Power cables to a CCTV camera pointing at her flat were cut in the lead-up to her disappearance.