The search for murdered estate agent Suzy Lamplugh has been renewed as police act on information gained while digging up the garden of a Bristol killer’s mother.
Miss Lamplugh - who was last seen alive on July 28, 1986 - was declared dead in 1994, but her murderer has never been found.
Forensic teams have been digging in a field outside Drakes Broughton, Worcestershire, in the hope of locating the remains of the 25-year-old.
It comes eight months after police abandoned a dig at the Sutton Coldfield house once occupied by the mother of prime suspect John Cannan.
Cannan, who was jailed for life in 1989 for the rape and murder of Bristol newlywed Shirley Banks, has been questioned several times over the murder and continues to deny any involvement.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson 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.
“We will not be commenting on any speculation surrounding the search.”
The spokesperson, who explained that the Worcestershire landowner is not connected to the investigation or the current search, said Miss Lamplugh’s family have been notified about the latest development.
The mystery of what happened to Miss Lamplugh is one of the longest-running in UK legal history.
On July 28, 1986, Miss Lamplugh reportedly went to meet a mystery client - named only as Mr Kipper - in Fulham, west London.
On leaving her office at 12.40pm, she took her keys and a purse containing £15, but left her handbag.
Police said she was wearing a grey skirt, dark jacket and low heels as she argued with a man outside a property in Shorrolds Road, Fulham, at about 1pm - which was when she was last seen.
After she failed to attend another appointment, her boss at Sturgis estate agents reported her missing.
Her white Ford Fiesta was later discovered in Stevenage Road, with its doors unlocked and handbrake off, about a mile away from her original appointment.
Miss Lamplugh’s keys were missing but her purse was in the driver's door pocket.
Her body has never been found but in 1994 she was officially declared dead, presumed murdered.
In December 2000 police dug up Norton Barracks in Worcestershire and again in February 2001 after receiving new information.
In August 2010, police began searching a field off the B4084 between Pershore and Drakes Broughton, about three miles from the Barracks.
In December 2000, a nearby brickworks was searched which had been mentioned in several of the original witness statements.
No-one has ever been charged in connection with Miss Lamplugh’s disappearance, but in 2002 police named convicted killer Cannan, now 64, as the only suspect.
