Bones found in Worcestershire near search site not thought to be estate agent’s remains

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The latest search for the remains of the estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, who disappeared in 1986, has ended without any evidence being found, Scotland Yard has said.

The search, which started on 3 July, involved the excavation of several areas of land in Pershore, Worcestershire, with the assistance of archaeologists, after police received a tip. The Metropolitan police, which are leading the investigation into her disappearance, said on Wednesday her family had been informed that the search had been unsuccessful.

The announcement came as West Mercia police, which has been assisting the Met, said human bones discovered in the village of Kempsey, approximately six miles from Pershore, were not believed to be linked to Lamplugh.

Supt Damian Pettit, commander for south Worcestershire, said: “We are conducting a very thorough investigation and have multiple lines of inquiry to explore, one of which is into the disappearance of a woman from Kempsey that was launched in 1982.

“At this stage we don’t believe the remains to be connected to the Met police’s missing person investigation for Suzy Lamplugh.”

He stressed that police could not conclusively rule out the remains being those of Lamplugh until the postmortem results were received.

Lamplugh, aged 25, was declared dead in 1994, presumed murdered. It is one of the most notorious unsolved cases in recent criminal history.

The excavations in Pershore were the latest in a series of searches since Lamplugh disappeared after leaving her offices in west London to meet a client known as Mr Kipper.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A police forensics dog searches the hedgerow of a field in Pershore. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

John Cannan was named as the prime suspect in the case in 2002 and last year a house in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, previously owned by his mother was searched.

Cannan was jailed in 1989, following the rape of a woman in Reading in the same year as Lamplugh’s disappearance, as well as the rape and murder of Shirley Banks and the attempted kidnapping of Julia Holman. He was questioned in relation to Lamplugh’s murder several times, but denies the allegations.

A Met police spokesperson said: “We remain committed to securing justice for Suzy and her family, and officers will continue to assess any new information received in connection with this case.”