Lamplugh search covers fresh ground

Police are searching woodland for clues

Police have begun searching remote woodland in Somerset for the body of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh.

A team of 20 officers with dogs is searching a forested hillside in the Quantocks, near Taunton, after new information came to light.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Dickie, leading the operation, said he was "optimistic" that Suzy's body would be found.

He added that the search had been delayed twice before because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

I am always optimistic that we will find Suzy Lamplugh's body

DCI Jim Dickie

Miss Lamplugh, then 25, vanished in 1986 after going to meet a client calling himself 'Mr Kipper' who had arranged to view a house in Fulham, south-west London.

Her Ford Fiesta car was recovered the same day about a mile away.

Mr Dickie said the search would focus on specific areas of woodland, based on information received and his own previous visits to the area.

But he refused to discuss what had led police there, saying only that they had "good reasons".

'Specific site'

He said: "There are a number of reasons I do not feel I can share at this time.

"There is a specific site within the area that we will be searching. This is not a scattergun approach."

The search was only undertaken after consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture and the local parish council, he said.

DCI Dickie is 'optimistic' of finding Suzy's body

He said his officers had been trained by the military and were using the very latest techniques.

The search is expected to last until the end of the week.

In February this year detectives spent two days searching a site close to Norton army barracks near Worcester, but failed to find a body.

Crimewatch appeal

After the original police inquiry failed to find her body, Miss Lamplugh's family came to accept that she had been murdered.

Last May the investigation was reopened and an appeal was made on the BBC's Crimewatch UK programme.

The publicity encouraged new witnesses to come forward.

Suzy Lamplugh went missing in 1986

Police also appealed for more information about a dark, left-hand drive BMW car that a jogger saw in Fulham at the time of Suzy's disappearance.

The witness said he saw a blonde young lady in the car who looked like she was screaming for help.

The jogger's testimony was initially discounted by police because it did not fit into their timescale of events.

He also said the woman had blonde hair, but pictures distributed of Miss Lamplugh had brown hair.

But Miss Lamplugh had her hair highlighted a week before she was abducted.

Anyone with information can call the police on 020 7321 9251 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.