Missing Sarah inquiry to be reviewed

Sarah Benford was in council care when she disappeared

Detectives investigating the disappearance of teenager Sarah Benford have called in officers from another force to review their inquiry.

Northamptonshire Police have been trying to establish what happened to Sarah who was 14 and in care when she was last seen in her home town of Kettering in April 2000.

It was announced on Wednesday that officers from Derbyshire would spend a week looking at the current investigation.

Assistant Chief Constable Derek Talbot, who commissioned the inquiry, stressed that the move was routine during a major investigation.

"The aim of the review is two-fold; firstly to check we have carried out all possible inquiries to date, and secondly to give us a fresh perspective on future lines of inquiry," he said.

Three arrests

Since Sarah's disappearance, her picture has featured on advertising hoardings and milk cartons and appeals for information have been made on the BBC's Crimewatch UK programme.

Three people - a 37-year-old woman from Kent, a 29-year-old man from Kettering and a 54-year-old man from South Wales - were arrested last week as part of the investigation.

It followed searches of property where gardens were dug up and items removed.

The three were detained on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs to the teenager while the man from south Wales was also arrested on suspicion of abduction.

They are on police bail pending the results of forensic tests and consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.