Experts study murdered girl's 999 call

Experts study murdered girl's 999 call

Hannah's body was found on the outskirts of the city

Specialists are examining a tape of a 999 call made by murdered Southampton teenager Hannah Foster on the night she disappeared.

Police hope the recording could provide a crucial breakthrough in the search for her killer.

The call was made from the 17-year-old's mobile phone on Friday 10 minutes after she waved goodbye to a friend in Highfield Lane, just five minutes walk from her home in Grosvenor Road.

Her fully-clothed body was found on Sunday afternoon in undergrowth at the side of Allington Lane on the outskirts of Southampton.

A post-mortem examination revealed she had been strangled but there was no sign of sexual assault.

Detective Superintendent Alan Betts said the call, which was logged at 2300 GMT, lasted for less than two minutes and had faint sounds in the background but nothing immediately discernible.

Trevor and Hilary Foster paid tribute to a "gentle and graceful" daughter

He said sound specialists were working to establish if anything could be determined from the recording.

Mr Betts said: "I have heard the tape, it is very difficult to determine anything. They didn't have a conversation."

He added that police did not respond to the 999 call because they had no idea where it was made from.

Detectives said that a man was questioned on Wednesday afternoon in Southampton but later released.

A Hampshire Police spokeswoman said: "A man was arrested in Southampton at 1330 GMT on Wednesday following a piece of intelligence work.

"He was brought in for questioning but later released and was eliminated from our inquiries."

Police said they are still looking for an Asian man, who approached Hannah twice in the past two months close to her home and called her by her name.

A 36-year-old Asian man who went to police on Tuesday night and stated that he had talked to Hannah nine months ago has been eliminated from their inquiries.

'Family devastated'

On Thursday Hannah's parents appealed for help in catching their daughter's killer.

Trevor Foster, 53, said: "We as a family are devastated by the loss of Hannah.

"My wife and I have lost our beautiful daughter and Hannah's 14-year-old sister Sarah has lost her big sister and friend.

"Hannah was a warm, kind-hearted 17-year-old girl who could always see good in others."

Hampshire Police said a number of items had been recovered from a recycling tip in Portsmouth where Hannah's mobile phone and satchel-style handbag were found on Monday.

Some items have been sent for DNA testing but none of these were considered to be significant at this stage.