More women's bones found in woods

8:01pm Wednesday 15th October 2008

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More bones have been found in a patch of woodland being searched by police investigating the death of a young woman.

A major police operation was underway today after experts revealed remains discovered in Hastings by children had been there for less than 18 months.

Officers were tonight trying to work out the identity of the dead person, believed to be a girl in her late teens or early 20s.

A team of scientists were analysing the skull and two more bones found by police while investigating officers were trawling through missing person reports to seek links.

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Hibbert, who is leading the investigation, said the cause of death was uncertain and that nothing had been ruled out, including murder.

He said: “There will be a post mortem but it is too early to speculate as to the cause of death. The key priority at this time is to establish the identity of the woman.

“Once we know who she is, we need to contact her family and establish the circumstances as to how she came to be where she is.

“This is an unusual set of circumstances. We are treating her death as unexplained.”

He said he was expecting a long investigation with a team dedicated specifically to the inquiry.

The skull was found in woods between Wishing Tree Reservoir and Crowhurst Road in the Queensway area of Hastings on Monday at around 5pm by the a group of young children playing.

A police search then led to the discovery of a pelvic bone and a fibia. Officers said the bones were all found close together and did not appear to have been buried.

Forensics officers were today conducting a close examination of the site, which was being guarded tonight. A wider part of the woods was taped off by the police.

DCI Hibbert said specialist units would be conducting a rigorous search of the whole area in the next few days.

He said the revelation that the body had been there for less than 18 months had considerably reduced the parameters of the investigation.

Analysts had initially said the bones could have been in the woods for up to 10 years.

Anyone with information about the discovery should call Sussex Police on 0845 6070999 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.