Police twice unsuccessfully searched the loft where Tia Sharp's body was hidden, only discovering her on the third attempt, an inquest has heard. The body of the 12-year-old was found wrapped in a sheet and layers of plastic in the loft of her grandmother's home in New Addington, south London, on 10 August last year, a week after she went missing.
A police constable first searched the loft on 4 August, climbing up on a stool balanced on a chair. He told the inquest that the loft seemed clear and he thought Tia was not hiding there. The following day a specialist team searched but failed to notice any smell of decomposition. One officer spent 25 minutes moving black bags that were too light to contain anything significant.
A search dog later indicated something above a bedroom, but the animal was too large to enter the loft. It was only on 10 August that a detective noticed a smell of decomposition, which the grandmother, Christine Bicknell, had mistaken for cat faeces. Another dog also indicated activity in the loft, and Tia's body was finally found.
Detective Constable Daniel Chatfield, who found the body, described the loft as extremely confined, very hot, and chaotic, with many boxes and bags around the hatch entrances. After about ten minutes, his colleague alerted him to what appeared to be Tia's body. Scotland Yard later apologised to Tia's family for the delay in finding her.
