Samantha Eastwood: Sister appeals for missing midwife to come home - BBC News
Gemma Eastwood says "without her half of me has gone" about her older sibling Samantha.
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The sister of a midwife who has been missing for a week has said her family needs her home "where she belongs".

Samantha Eastwood, 28, was last seen leaving Royal Stoke University Hospital at 07:45 BST last Friday and did not return later for her night shift.

Staffordshire Police is treating her case as a "high-risk missing person" inquiry.

Gemma Eastwood made a tearful appeal saying: "We miss you very much, we need you home where you belong."

The 26-year-old support worker said her sister was "warm and generous with a great sense of humour" as she appealed for any information about her "happy, bubbly" sibling.

Samantha Eastwood did not turn up for her night shift at the hospital

"If she's out there, or anyone knows where she is, please get in touch," she told a press conference.

A scream was heard near Samantha's home in Stockton Brook, Stoke-on-Trent, at about 14:00 on the day she went missing, police said.

Det Supt Simon Duffy said she has not used her bank cards or car since going missing.

"Without her half of me has gone," Ms Eastwood's sister said.

She described her as her "best friend and partner in crime".

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Timeline of the search for missing Staffordshire midwife

Det Supt Duffy said police were specifically asking for dashcam footage from people who were in the Baddeley Green area on 27 July.

He added specialist teams, including the dog support unit, were continuing to carry out a number of searches at different locations in North Staffordshire.

Her purse, described as "very distinctive", was missing from her property after a search.

The public has been urged to report any sightings of vehicles parked in "strange locations", isolated areas or lay-bys.

Ms Eastwood's Radley purse is missing and described by police as navy with a blue, pink and orange striped dog on the front

A 32-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of kidnap following her disappearance. He has been released under investigation.

Police said previously she had been in a relationship and engaged, but the engagement had been broken off earlier in the year and she was currently single and living alone.

A post shared on Facebook suggested Ms Eastwood appeared to have been selling her wedding dress on an online marketplace.

On Wednesday, Staffordshire Police released CCTV of her leaving work with a female colleague, before driving off alone in her Volvo XC60.

Her car was later found parked on the driveway at her house.

Gemma Eastwood said in her appeal her sister was "determined to become a midwife from a young age and succeeded".

"All of Samantha's work friends describe her as an amazing midwife. Samantha is selfless and would do anything for anyone before herself."

Liz Rix, chief nurse at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust said on Thursday: "If Sam reads this, I just want to say that we really miss you and we just want to know that you are safe."

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