Sarah Benford: Police start dig in search for girl who vanished 21 years ago

Sarah Benford was 14 when she vanished

Northamptonshire Police said they would start to excavate a 70-metre by 70-metre area in Kettering (Getty Images)

Detectives are set to begin digging an area of land in connection with the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl from a care home more than 20 years ago.

Sarah Benford was last seen in the Kettering area of Northamptonshire on 6 April 2000, before a murder probe was launched three years later.

Northamptonshire Police said they would begin excavating a 70-metre by 70-metre area in the town after receiving “significant intelligence”.

A number of suspects have been arrested since Ms Benford’s disappearance, and searches have been conducted in Kettering, London and Wales, but nobody has ever been charged.

On Monday, following intelligence obtained by the force’s Major Investigation Team, searches are set to begin on an area of open space land in the Valley Walk area of Kettering.

The site will be sealed off until the excavation, expected to last two weeks, is complete.

The force said specialist search teams will be assisted by forensic archaeologists, and penetration radar equipment will be deployed to assess any movement on the section of land under investigation.

Dozens of officers will provide scene guard support throughout the dig and the area will be screened off from the public while the search is happening.

Detective Superintendent Joe Banfield who is leading the Northamptonshire Police operation, said: “We have received significant intelligence which has pointed us to this site as a possible area of interest.

“Ms Benford went missing more than 21 years ago now, but we have never given up trying to find her body and, potentially, tracing her killer or killers.

“We have informed Ms Benford’s family and they are supportive of the operation being carried out today. We will be in close contact with them as the excavation unfolds, but we request that members of the media do not try to contact them.

“Clearly someone out there knows what happened to Sarah all those years ago and we would urge anyone with new information to contact us on 101 or, in confidence, via the Crimestoppers hotline on 0800 555111.”

Police have said people with information relating to Sarah’s disappearance should contact them quoting incident number 359 of 10/11/2021.

PA