Three arrests have been made after the discovery of a man’s body in woodland in Essex, as police investigate whether two people were taken against their will. The body is believed to be that of a man in his 40s, who had gone missing from an address in north London alongside a woman in her 30s who has since been found physically unharmed. The pair were known to each other, the Metropolitan police said. The force described their investigation as a “very complex and fast-moving” one, but said that a “key line of inquiry is that the man and woman were taken against their will in a vehicle” on Thursday. The man’s body was discovered in woodland near the Oakwood Hill Industrial Estate in Loughton at about 11.55am on Saturday. Officers were called on Friday afternoon to reports that the man and woman were missing from an address in Ebony Crescent in Barnet, north London, having last been seen the night before. Essex police, who were initially investigating, confirmed on Sunday that Scotland Yard has taken over the probe as the man is believed to have died within the area for which the Met is responsible. A postmortem examination and formal identification of the body will take place in due course, the Met said. Three men were arrested in the Kent area on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody. Officers have urged people who were in the Ebony Crescent area on Thursday to contact police if they recall seeing something suspicious, with residents asked to check doorbell cameras, and motorists asked to look at dashcam footage. DCI Kate Kieran said her team is “working 24/7 to establish exactly what has happened”. She said: “This is a very complex and fast-moving investigation involving multiple units across the MPS [Met police service], as well as invaluable support from our colleagues in Essex police. “While the investigation remains at an early stage, a key line of inquiry is that the man and woman were taken against their will in a vehicle on Thursday night.” She said a police presence would remain in the Oakwood Hill Industrial Estate area for the coming days, and assured residents in London and Essex that officers are “doing absolutely everything we can to understand the chain of events here, and bring to justice those responsible”. Det Supt Rob Kirby, from the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate, said: “The Met police will now take the lead on this investigation but we will continue to support them. Road closures will remain in the area while investigations at the scene continue.”