This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/7092273.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Human remains at house analysed | Human remains at house analysed |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Tests are being carried out on human remains found in a garden to determine whether or not they belong to a teenager who vanished in 1991. | Tests are being carried out on human remains found in a garden to determine whether or not they belong to a teenager who vanished in 1991. |
| Dinah McNicol was 18 when she failed to return to her home in Tillingham, Essex, after a trip to Hampshire. | Dinah McNicol was 18 when she failed to return to her home in Tillingham, Essex, after a trip to Hampshire. |
| A forensic search is taking place at a house in Margate, Kent, where remains were found during a dig in the garden. | A forensic search is taking place at a house in Margate, Kent, where remains were found during a dig in the garden. |
| Police said initial examination had revealed the remains are of a female, but no further details are known. | |
| An Essex Police spokeswoman said: "It has not been possible at this stage to establish cause of death or ascertain age or time of death - it is too early to say whether the remains are those of Dinah McNicol. | |
| "It may be some days before we are formally able to say whether it is or not, however as well as the human remains some personal effects were discovered. | |
| "We cannot be specific about these but various inquiries are being made as these items are not consistent with the information we have about Dinah." | |
| Hitched a lift | Hitched a lift |
| A Scotsman called Peter Tobin formerly lived in the house being searched. | |
| Essex Police announced last week they were reviewing the investigation into Miss McNicol's disappearance. | |
| The force said new information had led them to focus their inquiries on the address in Irvine Drive, Margate. | The force said new information had led them to focus their inquiries on the address in Irvine Drive, Margate. |
| Police said the investigation had nothing to do with the family currently living at the address. | Police said the investigation had nothing to do with the family currently living at the address. |
| A forensic archaeology team is searching the garden | |
| Miss McNicol, and a friend, were last seen in a car with a man after hitching a lift following the festival in Liphook, Hampshire, on 3 August 1991. | Miss McNicol, and a friend, were last seen in a car with a man after hitching a lift following the festival in Liphook, Hampshire, on 3 August 1991. |
| Officers believe the pair were picked up by a man in a car, who dropped off Miss McNicol's friend at Junction 8 of the M25 near Reigate, Surrey. | Officers believe the pair were picked up by a man in a car, who dropped off Miss McNicol's friend at Junction 8 of the M25 near Reigate, Surrey. |
| The vehicle and the driver were never traced. | The vehicle and the driver were never traced. |
| At the time of her disappearance, regular withdrawals of cash were made from her building society account at cash points in Hampshire and Sussex. | At the time of her disappearance, regular withdrawals of cash were made from her building society account at cash points in Hampshire and Sussex. |
| Miss McNicol's father, Ian McNicol, 68, of Tillingham, said: "Ninety-nine percent of me thinks she has been murdered but there's just that 1% that doesn't know. | Miss McNicol's father, Ian McNicol, 68, of Tillingham, said: "Ninety-nine percent of me thinks she has been murdered but there's just that 1% that doesn't know. |
| "I want to die in peace knowing what happened to my daughter." | "I want to die in peace knowing what happened to my daughter." |