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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Floor and patio dig at body house | Floor and patio dig at body house |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Concrete floors and a patio are being broken through as police spend their fifth day searching a house in Kent for a missing Essex teenager. | Concrete floors and a patio are being broken through as police spend their fifth day searching a house in Kent for a missing Essex teenager. |
| Officers from the two counties' police forces have been on the site in Irvine Drive, Margate, since Monday. | Officers from the two counties' police forces have been on the site in Irvine Drive, Margate, since Monday. |
| Essex Police are investigating the disappearance of 18-year-old Dinah McNicol, who failed to return home from a trip to Hampshire in 1991. | Essex Police are investigating the disappearance of 18-year-old Dinah McNicol, who failed to return home from a trip to Hampshire in 1991. |
| The body of Vicky Hamilton, 15, from Scotland, was found on Monday. | The body of Vicky Hamilton, 15, from Scotland, was found on Monday. |
| She was last seen in Bathgate, West Lothian, in 1991. | She was last seen in Bathgate, West Lothian, in 1991. |
| Peter Tobin, 61, also from Scotland, appeared at Linlithgow Sheriff Court on Thursday and was charged with Vicky's murder. | Peter Tobin, 61, also from Scotland, appeared at Linlithgow Sheriff Court on Thursday and was charged with Vicky's murder. |
| He was once a resident at the Margate house where the body was discovered. | He was once a resident at the Margate house where the body was discovered. |
| 'Public reassurance' | 'Public reassurance' |
| The family who lived in the modern town house until Monday have been receiving support from Kent Police family liaison officers. | |
| The force's Det Supt Chris Hogben said: "We're also putting a lot of staff into the local community in terms of public reassurance, and answering any questions or concerns." | The force's Det Supt Chris Hogben said: "We're also putting a lot of staff into the local community in terms of public reassurance, and answering any questions or concerns." |
| Det Supt Tim Wills, from Essex Police, said officers at the site, numbering up to 20 each day, would remain there for at least another week. | |
| "It's a slow and painstaking process, using sheer physical graft," he said. | "It's a slow and painstaking process, using sheer physical graft," he said. |
| "It has been a long and tiring week but the team are still working with dogged determination." | "It has been a long and tiring week but the team are still working with dogged determination." |
| On Friday morning, three archaeologists were about two-thirds of their way through groundwork at the property, involving digging up parts of the back garden and patio. | |
| The forensics experts are from University College London, the Metropolitan Police and a Sussex-based archaeological society. | |
| Drilling work was also being carried out on a 6in-thick concrete floor inside. | |
| Police are still looking for any sign of Dinah McNicol at the house | Police are still looking for any sign of Dinah McNicol at the house |
| A force spokeswoman said the floor investigations would "focus on areas indicated by the ground penetration radar as having possible underground disturbance, and any areas that have surface anomalies such as apparent repairs". | A force spokeswoman said the floor investigations would "focus on areas indicated by the ground penetration radar as having possible underground disturbance, and any areas that have surface anomalies such as apparent repairs". |
| Initial forensic work on the interior fabric of the house was also taking place, she added. | Initial forensic work on the interior fabric of the house was also taking place, she added. |
| Officers carried out house-to-house inquiries in Irvine Drive on Thursday. | Officers carried out house-to-house inquiries in Irvine Drive on Thursday. |
| Police have also appealed for any residents who lived in the area at the same time as Peter Tobin to get in touch with them. | Police have also appealed for any residents who lived in the area at the same time as Peter Tobin to get in touch with them. |
| Vicky's body was found in the back garden, where a shed was removed on Thursday to aid the ongoing ground excavations. | Vicky's body was found in the back garden, where a shed was removed on Thursday to aid the ongoing ground excavations. |
| Miss McNicol was last seen in a man's car after she and a friend hitched a lift following a music festival in Liphook, Hampshire, in August 1991. | Miss McNicol was last seen in a man's car after she and a friend hitched a lift following a music festival in Liphook, Hampshire, in August 1991. |
| Her friend was dropped off at junction eight of the M25, near Reigate, Surrey, but Miss McNicol, the car and the driver have never been found. | Her friend was dropped off at junction eight of the M25, near Reigate, Surrey, but Miss McNicol, the car and the driver have never been found. |