Human remains have been discovered in a cesspit at a farmhouse nearly four decades after a woman's disappeared.
Police are investigating after the grim discovery was made at the property in a picturesque Worcestershire village over the weekend.
Locals say Brenda Venables vanished aged 48 from the Kempsey, Worcestershire house, in 1982.
Her now 86-year-old husband David Venables still lives in the area.
Maintenance workers found human remains last Friday at Quaking House Farm on Bestmans Lane - where Mrs Venables and her husband David used to live.
The discovery was initially thought to be connected to the search for murdered estate agent Suzy Lamplugh in nearby Pershore but police ruled it out.
Now local residents say the remains are thought to be that of Mrs Venables.
Her husband, 86, sold the farmhouse for £467,000 in 2014 and now lives in a bungalow a mile away.
The Mail Online reports Mr Venables was said to have a piggery nearby.
Speaking at the time of his wife's disappearance, he told his local newspaper: "I just woke up to find that she had gone.
"She has never done anything like this before and I haven't the faintest idea what has happened to her."
He went on to say his wife had recently been suffering from depression and a bout of flu.
Mr Venables, who farmed 500 acres of land, added: "I have been unable to sleep a wink since she left and I can only hope and pray she is safe."
When Mr Venables was approached for comment regarding the discovery of human remains at this former home, he told reporters: "I have nothing to say on the matter."
One villager, who did not want to be named, said: "Nobody ever seemed to know what happened to her.
"She went missing one night - the family have never had closure."
West Mercia Police say it could take weeks before the remains are formally identified.
Superintendent Damian Pettit said: "We are conducting a very thorough investigation and have multiple lines of enquiry to explore and one of which is into the disappearance of a woman from Kempsey that was launched in 1982.
"Until we have formal identification we are not in a position to link the remains to any particular person at this stage."
