Emma Bunton’s lost dog search ends in tragedy

SPICE Girl Emma Bunton’s dog has been found dead on a railway track after she launched the “biggest ever search for a missing dog” earlier this week.

• Emma enlisted a pet detective to help with the search

• The Spice Girl started a Twitter campaign to try and track down her lost dog

• The dog went missing on Monday

The dog, named Phoebe, went missing on Monday and is thought to have died in an accident shortly afterwards.

Former police officer and pet detective Tom Watkins was enlisted by Bunton to help find the dog, he said: “She was found lying between the tracks. It is very sad but at least now the family have closure. Network Rail was contacted and a worker went on to the track and retrieved the body.

“She must have slipped under the fence and been hit by a train. I believe the accident happened on Monday, shortly after she went missing.”

Emma Bunton has been left devastated by the news of the death of her chocolate brown Labrador, a birthday present from her partner Jade Jones. She Tweeted: “To all the amazing people who supported us at this horrible time. Our precious phoebe has been found and its terrible news, we are devastated.”

The search consisted of up to 15 volunteers and teams of professional pet detectives combing the area around North London where Phoebe went missing. But tragically, that search plus a huge social media campaign by Bunton and celebrity friends wasn’t enough to bring the dog home safely.