The family of a suspected victim of serial killer Fred West are “very sad” her body was not found when police dug up the cellar of the care where she worked.
Mary Bastholm, who worked as a waitress at the Pop-In cafe, was just 15 when she went missing in Gloucester in January 1968.
It has long been thought she was abducted and murdered by West, who knew her and was killing girls and young women in the area at the time of her disappearance.
For decades there has been speculation she was buried in the basement of the cafe, now known as the Clean Plate, but police did not find any human remains during an excavation of the basement this month.
Gloucestershire police began excavation work after an ITV film crew said it had found "possible" evidence that human remains could be buried in the cellar.
An image from a tiny camera showed blue material in a void in the basement, and experts later identified six voids in total that warranted exploration.
Mary was wearing a blue coat and a blue and white dress, and carrying a blue bag when she was last seen alive.
Serial killer West died aged 53 in prison in 1995 while awaiting trial accused of 12 murders of women and girls.
He is said to have confessed to killing Mary in conversation with his son, Stephen, but never admitted it to police.
He and wife Rose West, 67, tortured, raped and murdered an unknown number of women over a 20-year period.
Rose was found guilty of 10 murders and jailed for life.
In a statement on Thursday, Mary's family said they continue to “hold out some hope that one day Mary will be found”.
They thanked Gloucestershire Constabulary, the TV production team who spotted the potential lead, the excavation team, the cafe owners and the people of Gloucestershire for their work and support, telling Sky News: “We are still very sad that Mary has not been found.
“We were hoping to get final closure on her disappearance so that we could put her to rest.
“We have been open-minded throughout this process and we now know the cafe can be ruled out.
“We can however hold out some hope that one day Mary will be found.
“Mary was a strong-willed, happy-go-lucky teenager dearly loved by her parents and two brothers.
“She enjoyed life and was just coming into her own when her life was tragically cut short.
“Her parents and two brothers were never the same after she went missing.
“They have now sadly passed away without ever knowing what happened to their loving daughter and sister.”
Gloucestershire Constabulary Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden said: “The blue material photographed on an endoscope camera by the TV production company was not identified, but we did establish it was likely to be connected to a buried pipe.
“That pipe was recovered and our excavations went beyond the original endoscope depth.
“Everybody working on this is disappointed that we did not find Mary, allowing her family finally to lay Mary to rest after over 50 years was absolutely the most important reason for this excavation.
“Our thoughts are with Mary’s family, who’s continued dignity over recent week and over many years before has been absolutely humbling.
“I am now confidence that Mary is not buried in the cellar of the cafe, and I hope that eliminating this location will bring some small comfort to her family.”
He said the cost of excavation work in the Clean Plate cafe cellar could potentially rise to more than £70,000 of taxpayers’ money.
He added that he did not think there was any “legal basis” to seek costs from the production company who tipped police off about the site, adding: “Although, as a gesture of goodwill, if they were prepared to provide something then that’d be something we’d need to discuss with them and, of course, the cafe owners.”
A Gloucestershire Police spokesman said: “Excavation work at the Clean Plate cafe has now been completed and we can confirm no human remains or items of significance to the investigation have been found.
“Mary’s family have been updated and is continuing to receive support from family liaison officers.”
Officers were previously seen carrying objects including a number of wooden doors out of the cafe while forensic archaeologists said there were a number of structural anomalies in the cellar including six voids in the floor that were being examined.
A spokesman for The Nelson Trust, which runs the Clear Plate cafe, said: “As we said at the outset, our support of the police was always driven by what we thought were in the best interests of the family.
“They remain in our thoughts and prayers.”
