Police dig for body of girl 16 years after her murder
DETECTIVES yesterday launched a new search for the body of murdered schoolgirl Danielle Jones who disappeared 16 years ago.
Police sealed off a block of garages on a sprawling estate after receiving “credible” information she may have been buried there.
Specialist equipment was brought in as officers prepared to dig at the site. The force is now looking into why the block was not searched during the original investigation.
Yesterday Danielle’s parents, Linda and Tony, paid an emotional visit to the scene.
Their daughter was 15 when she vanished while walking to catch a school bus near her home in East Tilbury, Essex, in June 2001.
Her uncle, Stuart Campbell, 59, was convicted of murder in 2002 but her body has never been found.
The father of two refuses to reveal how he disposed of her body.
It is now thought Campbell, an ex-builder who was married to Mr Jones’ sister, may have buried Danielle’s body under concrete at the garages in Stifford Clays, Thurrock.
The site is just a two-minute drive from where he used to live.
Yesterday police erected a white tent in front of one of the detached council-owned concrete garages while a team of forensic officers carried out a fingertip search. Mrs Jones, 56, wiped away tears after spending 20 minutes at the site with husband Tony, also 56.
The couple, who live five miles away, were briefed about the operation. Mrs Jones later put her head in her hands as the couple were driven away by officers.
In a statement released through Essex police, they said: “We are extremely grateful the police are following up this information and we know they are determined to do whatever they can to find Danielle.
“We think about Danielle every day and we hope that this latest search may bring us answers to what happened to her 16 years ago.” Police said the new search was triggered after a member of the public reported “unusual activity” at the site in February this year.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Worron, of Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said some “nonspecific information” was received in 2001 relating to this garage area but it was never searched.
“The reasons why that garage block was not searched [in 2001] aren’t clear to me but we are working to understand that,” he said.
He confirmed 1,000 garages were among the “huge number” of searches in 2001 and 2002. He added: “To date Stuart Campbell has shown no remorse for his crime and has not told police or Danielle’s family where her body is.
“I am committed to conducting a thorough and professional search to see if we can bring the Jones family any closer to knowing what happened to Danielle 16 years ago.”
Residents living near the garages said there had been substantial building work carried out there “in the last fortnight”.
One elderly man, who did not wish to be named, said: “Workmen pulled nine of them down the other week. I think they have probably found something doing that.”
Kaylee Tidswell, 28, remembered numerous searches for Danielle in the area when she disappeared. She said: “I feel angry for the parents because they want that closure.”
Campbell was told he will serve at least 20 years and will be eligible for parole in four years.
The jury heard he pretended to be a freelance glamour photographer to lure teenage girls to his home and photograph them semi-naked. He also boasted he could commit the perfect murder and visited websites showing how to dispose of a body.