Widow of missing man found dead under flyover 'can rest easy'

The widow of a man whose remains were found under a motorway flyover said the eight years he was missing were the "toughest" of her life.

Police used dental records to identify the remains of Vinny Derrick, who vanished on a night out with colleagues in Manchester city centre in the early hours of August 30 2003.

They were found in an area beneath the flyover near junction 3 of the M60 in Stockport, Greater Manchester, on Wednesday night.

Vicki Derrick was in tears as she said she could now "rest easy".

But she said she still has a lot of questions which need to be answered about her husband's death.

"I was never going to be satisfied until Vinny was found," she said at a press conference.

"I was never going to give up, I always wanted to believe that this day would come."

She continued: "I keep saying whatever happened, happened on that night, and I can now rest easy with the fact I have always believed that.

"There are lots of questions that I have and I am waiting to be answered.

"The past eight years have been the toughest eight years of my life and it hasn't been easy.

"It is quite ironic that we have now found Vinny and the struggle that I had all last year trying to get the presumption of death certificate etc and it's a bit ironic that now he has been found."

Mrs Derrick's mother, Dawn Kelsall, said: "It is a relief but, as Victoria says, it's very, very hard.

"Yes, we have wanted this answer for a long time but it was such a shock. It came out of the blue. You are going about your normal life and it was such a shock.

"It is just like it was eight years ago. Just as hard.

"There is not a week that goes by, in the eight years that we have gone through, that you don't think 'Is something going to come up? I wish they'd find him'.

"And it is just such a shock now at how they have found him."

Police said they are still not sure if Mr Derrick died in suspicious circumstances and are continuing to examine the scene.

Anyone with information is asked to call Stockport CID on 0161 856 9840, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

PA