'New line' in backpacker murder

Clergymen made appeal over disappearance

Police have said they are following a "positive line of inquiry" into the murder of a German backpacker in north Antrim almost 17 years ago.

The body of Inga Maria Hauser, 18, was recovered in a shallow grave in Ballypatrick forest on the outskirts of Ballycastle on 21 April 1988.

She was last seen alive on the Stranraer to Larne ferry on 6 April.

On Sunday, clergymen in the Ballycastle area made an appeal during services for information about Inga's murder.

A police spokesman said on Monday: "We believe there may be those in the local community who can assist with this matter."

Ms Hauser, who was from Munich, had travelled to meet with a friend in Cardiff, but decided to go to Scotland and Northern Ireland while in Britain.

She was found in the shallow grave with her neck broken.

Ms Hauser's personal diary was recovered at the spot where her body was discovered by a passing forestry worker. Her rucksack was also found.

Five years ago, detectives carried out new tests on those items.

Hundreds of people who had been on the ferry, including soldiers and lorry drivers, were questioned by RUC detectives as part of a huge investigation centred on Northern Ireland's north coast.

DNA tests have been carried out on more than 300 people in an effort to apprehend the murderer.