PC Peter Walmsley said he believed Johanna had gone out to a party the night before she disappeared and was dropped off by a taxi driver a short distance from her home. Two other witnesses also reported giving Johanna lifts home late at night from parties in Dereham. Watton's youth scene became a focus of the police investigation as officers tried to find out more about Johanna's world and the world of the main suspect.
The last friend to see Johanna Young alive spotted her on Watton High Street on the day she disappeared. She said she seemed down and that has been put down to the fact she had split up with her boyfriend, Ryan Firman, two days before she disappeared. He was questioned by police but quickly ruled out as a suspect and had an alibi for that night. The friend said: "I remember asking her if she was OK and yes she did seem down. I wish now that I had more time back then to talk to her."