Jeremy Forrest's father begs: 'Please, please get in contact' The last confirmed sighting of Mr Forrest's son, a married amateur musician, and Megan was when they boarded a ferry from Dover to Calais last Thursday evening. Chief Inspector Jason Tingley, of Sussex Police, confirmed that the cross channel tickets had been purchased in advance and that Megan had gone with the maths teacher willingly. A European Arrest Warrant was issued for the arrest of Mr Forrest on suspicion of abduction of a minor on Tuesday. Chief Insp Tingley defended the decision not to apply for it earlier, saying that officers had expected the pair to return to the UK on Sunday using pre-booked ferry tickets. He disclosed that there had been "rumoured" sightings of the pair all over Europe but that none had been confirmed. Sussex Police are now working with the authorities in those countries and Interpol to establish whether or not they are genuine. Chief Insp Tingley noted that the French had a "slightly different perspective" on the case. In France, where the age of consent is 15, the pair are simply the subject of a missing persons inquiry and have not broken the law. He added: "This has probably not gone the way that Megan or Jeremy expected. Jeremy will be aware that he has questions to answer, and making contact with us is the best way he can do this. As time goes on clearly our concern may increase. We know Megan went willingly. We've given them every opportunity to come back voluntarily. The best scenario is that they make contact and we are wishing and hoping that happens. He refused to comment on whether Mr Forrest was being investigated before the pair set off to France. "That is part of the investigation which I'm not willing to speak about," he said. There was clearly a line of inquiry in regards to that and we'll be following that through. Mr Forrest snr, who runs an IT business, had previously suggested that his son was vulnerable and that his mental state had been deteriorating for some time. He defended his son, insisting that he was not a "violent or evil" person, but added: "We have been worried about him for some time and noticed him going further downhill for more than - let's just say - a matter of months. Friends have claimed it was "obvious" that something was going on between the pair, describing how Megan "hung around" Forrest's classroom at lunch breaks and after school. One said: "It was common knowledge something was going on between them. They regularly texted and flirted. Many of the girls had a crush on him. Megan and Mr Forrest were spotted holding hands as they sat next to each other on a flight home from a school trip to Los Angeles in February. Although friends said they had alerted teachers, no immediate action appears to have been taken. Furious parents have demanded a full inquiry into the apparent lapse in child protection and have accused senior staff of letting pupils down. Former pupils whom Mr Forrest taught at a previous school, claimed that he had sent them birthday cards and treated him like his "little sisters." Megan's stepfather, Martin Stammers, has urged people using social networking sites to continue re-tweeting appeals for Megan to return safely.