KEY POINTS:
Missing schoolgirl Julie Davis met the man she ran off with at least three times before her disappearance, police have revealed.
Detective Constable Pete Sweeney said the 14-year-old Mt Maunganui College pupil met 41-year-old Craig Howard twice in the Bay of Plenty and once in the upper North Island.
Police are talking to her classmates in an effort to build up a picture of her movements before and after she went missing.
"The message we're getting is basically she's confirming she's with him," said Sweeney.
The pair met while Julie was on a family holiday at the Waingaro Hot Springs, near Ngaruawahia, in March and disappeared nine days ago.
Sweeney said the pair were seen at the Miranda Hot Springs near Thames at 6.30pm on Wednesday by a man who knows Howard.
"He was with a young girl that fits her description. They used the hot pools, they were there for a couple of hours."
Sweeney said the witness didn't see anything to suggest the relationship was sexual but police are becoming increasingly worried about Julie's safety.
Her friends had told police Julie had seen herself on TV and was "happy that she's famous".
But he was anxious that she had not indicated when she planned to return home.
"She's a 14-year-old, he's a 41-year-old man, he should know better. The longer she's with him the more I get concerned for her welfare," Sweeney said.
The witness who saw the duo on Wednesday said the girl was wearing a padded winter jacket with the symbol for American rapper 50 Cent on the back.
She was wearing her school uniform of red top and grey skirt when she disappeared after walking along Topaz Dr in Papamoa on the afternoon of July 4.
Howard, who is understood to have a string of criminal convictions, often wears a distinctive maroon beanie, is Maori, 1.75m tall, of medium build and speaks with a slight lisp.
He is believed to be driving a grey 1989 Subaru Legacy station wagon, registration UE4661.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Tauranga police on (07) 577-4300.
