The second day of the search for Astra, the black Labrador missing from Palewell Park since Tuesday evening, began with a drone in the dark and ended with a deliberate hush: a route traced street by street to Clapham Junction, and a family choosing quiet, police-led steps over a public hunt.
At 2am, a thermal-imaging drone flew over Palewell in the stillest hours, and its operator reported hearing a dog barking near the park’s edges that could not be located. By mid-morning, volunteers had knocked on every door along the Palewell side of Hertford Avenue, and every household confirmed the barking had not come from their dogs. The sound was never explained, and a specialist tracking dog worked the park through the afternoon.
The day’s defining lead came from a doorbell. A clip from Enmore Gardens, captured minutes after Astra went missing, showed a black Labrador walking beside a woman pushing a pram loaded with belongings. Through the day, footage and witness accounts extended the picture: along Vicarage Drive, down the full length of East Sheen Avenue, onto a 337 bus near Thornton Road at about 5.50pm, where she is reported to have asked the driver for help reaching Clapham Junction, and finally off the bus by the Junction pub, walking towards Clapham Junction station.
Volunteers checked cameras, resolved conflicting timestamps that turned out to be doorbell devices set to different clocks, and closed false trails as they went: a reported gym sighting in Chiswick came to nothing, and Thames Water inspected the tunnels along Beverley Brook, ruled them out, and said it would fit grilles to them.
The dog in the footage has not been confirmed as Astra, and the woman may simply have been walking her own dog.
As attention on the woman grew through the evening, the family stepped in. They asked supporters to stop posting photos and messages about her, to send any information or footage to them directly, and to leave the next steps to a careful, structured approach with the police, who take a full statement on Saturday morning. The concern, they said, is that frightening the woman could put Astra at risk if the dog is with her. The search for Astra herself continues, more quietly.
If you see her
Astra is a black Labrador with unusually pale, amber eyes. She may no longer be wearing her red collar, so a black Labrador with no collar should not be ruled out. She is microchipped and local vets have been alerted. If you see her, do not approach, chase or call out to her — a frightened dog tends to go to ground. Note where she is and call Lisa on 07824 822021. If you have information about the woman seen in the footage, please contact the family directly on the same number rather than posting publicly.
This page will be updated when there is news.
