Human remains found in Worcestershire village
Police say the case is in its early stages but they do not think it is connected with the case of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh.
Wednesday 17 July 2019 05:11, UK
Human remains have been discovered in a Worcestershire village, police have said.
The remains were found in Kempsey, about four miles south of Worcester, on Friday afternoon.
This is around seven miles from Pershore, where searches are underway for evidence connected to the disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh.
West Mercia Police said all lines of inquiry are being explored in Kempsey but it is not thought that the remains are related to the Lamplugh case.
They said: "We are aware of some speculation that this discovery may be linked to the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh who went missing in the 1980s.
"Although we don't believe it to be, until we have the forensic post-mortem results we are not in a position to link it to any particular person at this stage."
Ms Lamplugh, 25, was working in Fulham, west London, when she disappeared on 28 July 1986.
The investigation into her disappearance was closed in 1987 after failing to produce any leads and, despite her body never being found, she was officially declared dead in 1993.
In November 2002, Scotland Yard named John Cannan as the man they believed killed Suzy.
He is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of another woman, Shirley Banks, in 1987, as well as the abduction and rape of other women.
He denies killing Ms Lamplugh and the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to charge him.
New searches in Pershore began early in July, with police acting on new information received as a result of the publicity surrounding the search of a property in Sutton Coldfield in November last year.
Detective Chief Inspector Carl Moore said the death in Kempsey was being treated as unexplained but results of a post-mortem exam are expected soon.
He added: "This could be a lengthy process but we will continue to update the public in due course."