Missing girl's body found in car

Chanelle Sasha Jones was reported missing on Sunday afternoon

A murder inquiry has been launched after the body of a missing teenage girl was found in a car police tried to stop with a stinger device.

Chanelle Sasha Jones, 17, from Cardigan, was found in a Ford Fiesta which crashed into a parked van on the A487 between Aberaeron and Aberarth.

She had been reported missing hours earlier on Sunday.

Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed that a man in his 40s has been arrested and is being treated in hospital.

The teenager's mother paid tribute to her "beautiful daughter" whom she said had been through "so much" in her life.

A post mortem examination is yet to be carried out on Chanelle, who was known to her friends as Sasha.

Formal identification of the body has yet to take place and the force said it was "unclear" whether she was dead before the stinger was deployed - or whether she was killed in the crash.

She has been through so much in her short life and I was... so proud of how she was turning her life around for the better Chanelle Sasha's mother Jayne

In a statement, police said officers followed the Ford Fiesta after it was found near Aberaeron on Sunday before a stinger was used to try to stop it.

A stinger device is a strip of spikes that safely deflates the tyres of a car driven over it.

Shortly after the car drove into a lay-by, colliding with the camper van whose occupants received minor injuries.

Dyfed-Powys Police want to speak to anyone who saw Chanelle, a childcare student, between 0330 BST and 2215 BST on Sunday.

They also want to hear from anyone who may have seen a beige 03 plate Ford Fiesta which is believed to have been on the Haverfordwest to St Clears road, and in Lampeter, Poppit Sands and Gwbert-on-Sea on Sunday.

Forensic experts are still at the scene and a stretch of the A487 is likely to remain closed for most of the day. Diversions are in place.

The road was closed on Monday as officers examined the scene

Chanelle's mother Jayne said: "She has been through so much in her short life and I was, and we all are, so proud of how she was turning her life around for the better and she now had so many ambitions.

"She was my lovely daughter who will be so sadly missed by her sister and two brothers and all her family and her boyfriend Brian.

"We all love you and miss you darling babe."

The stinger used in the operation has been taken away for tests.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has confirmed that the case has been referred to them by Dyfed-Powys Police

An incident room has been set up at Aberystwyth police station. Anyone with information should contact Dyfed-Powys Police via 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.