Police Renew Appeal for Information on 10-year-old Sara Sharif

Published on: 7 Sep, 2023
Updated on: 7 Sep, 2023

Sara Sharif

Surrey Police are continuing to appeal for information following the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, four weeks after her body was found at her home in Horsell, Woking on August 10.

Officers are continuing to distribute leaflets in the Woking community appealing for information about Sara, or her family, which could help to progress the investigation and posters have been displayed in and around Woking train station and at taxi ranks.

The appeal has been translated into written Urdu and verbally in video format to reach Pakistani nationals living in the local area for whom Urdu is their first language.

Officers working for the force who are fluent in Urdu are supporting the investigation team, translating information given by members of the public.

The appeal has generated a number of enquiries which are helping detectives to piece together a picture of Sara’s life before her tragic death and these enquiries “remain ongoing”.

Searches conducted by specialist teams and forensic experts at two addresses linked to Sara and her family are also continuing. These include the family’s previous address in Eden Grove Road, Byfleet, and their most recent home address in Hammond Road, Horsell. These searches are expected to continue into next week and police cordons will remain at both addresses while these are carried out.

Urfan Sharif

Also continuing are enquiries to locate Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 41, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and Urfan’s brother, Faisal Malik, 28.

The police are working with international agencies, including Interpol, the National Crime Agency and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to progress our enquiries through the Pakistani authorities and have stressed that this adds extra sensitivity and complexity to their task.

The team is also working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Beinash Batool

Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey Police and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, said: “We are working hard to progress the investigation into Sara’s murder and a key part of this is piecing together information about her life from anyone who knew her or her family.

“We are grateful to everyone who has come forward with information, and I would like to stress that any information, no matter how insignificant it might seem, could be of use in developing our understanding of her lifestyle.

“Every single piece of information that we receive is reviewed by the investigation team and further enquiries carried out if appropriate. I would urge anyone who may have information and hasn’t yet come forward to reach out to us.

Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman

“There are a number of ways you can do this – you can report information via our portal, which is in both English and Urdu, you can call 101 if you would prefer to speak on the phone, or if you would like to remain anonymous, call the independent charity Crimestoppers.”

A police spokesperson said: “To report information, please visit our online portal: www.bit.ly/opunison

“To report information in Urdu, please visit our translated online portal: www.bit.ly/opunisonurdu

“To report information anonymously, call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”