Police have dug up a site in Leeds in connection with the disappearance of a woman 34 years ago. Patricia Hall vanished at the age of 39 in January 1992 after she was last seen "when family members spent the day in Ripon".
Search in Fulneck, Pudsey
West Yorkshire Police said they were scouring an area in Fulneck, Pudsey, this morning in connection with the disappearance of the mum-of-two. Officers said they launched the search after new information was received by their team. They added there is no suggestion of any link to the Moravian Church, which owns the site, reports Leeds Live.
Police statement
Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jones, West Yorkshire Police lead for Specialist Crime and Criminal Justice, said: "We are conscious of the understandable public focus that this activity is likely to attract in this high-profile case.
"Patricia's family have been informed, and we will be keeping them updated. We obviously have a duty to act on any new information we receive but at this stage we are keeping an open mind."
The Major Investigation Review Team carried out a thorough cold case review into Patricia's disappearance which concluded last year without establishing any new lines of enquiry.
"We would welcome any new or additional information that could assist us in getting Patricia's family the answers we know they still desperately need."
Search concluded
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police later confirmed that work at the site had concluded, and that nothing was found.
An inquest into Mrs Hall's presumed death opened in April this year and was adjourned to a later date. Coroner Oliver Longstaff said there had been no sightings of the mum since she vanished on January 25 1992 and no "circumstantial evidence" that she was alive.
He said Mrs Hall had also made no attempts to "contact any family member or social acquaintances". "There is reason to suspect that Mrs Hall's abrupt and complete disappearance is a consequence of her having died a violent or unnatural death," he said.
Mrs Hall's husband Keith was tried for her murder but found not guilty in 1994.
