Suzy Lamplugh cops search fields next to old rubbish tip ‘that could have concealed anything’
COPS investigating the murder of Suzy Lamplugh 33 years ago are digging on land next to an old tip that "could have concealed anything".
Police are using diggers and sniffer dogs to scour an area of land near the rural village of Drakes Broughton, Worcestershire for a second day.
The area is next to a former tipping site that could have hidden anything, a woman who lives nearby said.
She told Sky News: "It would have been very, very easy - you could have concealed anything underneath the tipping that was going on there, half a village, there was so much of it.
"It was really like a quarry site, it was all building waste, rubble. If they were digging up roads or anything they put everything that there was down there."
The previous owner of the tipping site, who has not been named, said only top soil was dumped there over a period of three weeks in 1986 - the same year the estate agent disappeared.
Cops are acting on a tip-off received as a result of publicity around the search of a property in Sutton Coldfield in November 2018.
Assisted by West Mercia Police, the Met Police are due to remain on site "until a thorough search has been completed"
Yesterday vans were spotted in a layby just off the A44 near Pershore, Worcs, after cops received “new information” about the case.
The 25-year-old vanished in 1986 when she went to show a client around a house in Fulham, West London.
She has not been seen since and her disappearance has remained one of Britain’s most notorious cold cases.
Ms Lamplugh was pronounced dead - presumed murdered - in 1994 but cops are today "thoroughly searching" land and are making "further enquiries".
It comes just months after cops searched the garden belonging to the key suspect's mother in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.
NEW INFORMATION
Convicted murderer John Cannan was the prime suspect in the case - but was never charged - and cops found no evidence in his mum's garden.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Officers received new information about Miss Lamplugh’s disappearance following the publicity around the search of a property in Sutton Coldfield in November 2018, as part of this investigation.
"All information was reviewed. Information relating to the areas we are currently searching was assessed and the decision was taken to make further enquiries."
Officers received new information about Miss Lamplugh’s disappearance following the publicity around the search of a property in Sutton Coldfield
Scotland Yard
Last month an ex-cop claimed she never went to meet "Mr Kipper" - the name of the client she went to show around the house.
Former Scotland Yard detective David Videcette is convinced Ms Lamplugh wasn't going to see a client at all - but faked the appointment to cover her tracks.
He believes she instead left the office on her own to go on a personal errand during work time.
: "It was clear that the accepted narrative was that Suzy had met her fate after meeting Mr Kipper at Shorrolds Road.
HUNT FOR JUSTICE
"Unfortunately, that version of events became the accepted narrative and anything that did not fit with it was discounted by the original investigating team."
Convicted murderer Cannan was questioned about her disappearance in 1989, and was arrested for the murder in 2000.
Although he was never found guilty, Mr Videcette believes the investigation was so focused on Cannan that "something vital was missed".
Cannan denies any involvement in her disappearance.
This latest line of inquiry must have been traumatic for them
Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Wood
Cops have vowed to continue trying to bring Ms Lamplugh’s killer to justice.
The head of the force's murder squad Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Wood paid tribute to her family's "courage and strength through decades of sorrow" as he insisted the case remains open.
He said: "This latest line of inquiry must have been traumatic for them, as well as bringing them some hope that they might find out more about what happened to Suzy.
"But they have always been supportive of our efforts to make progress in the investigation.
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A police spokesman added: "We will not be commenting on any speculation surrounding the search.
"Miss Lamplugh's family have been notified.
"The ongoing investigation into Miss Lamplugh’s disappearance being led by the Met’s Central Specialist Crime Command.
"Officers will continue to assess any new information received in connection with this case.
"Anyone that knows anything that could assist the investigation is asked to call officers on 0207 230 4294."
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