A badly-decomposed body dressed in gothic clothing discovered in Bolton woodland is prompting police to appeal for help in identifying the woman and trace her final movements.
The body was found just before 5.40pm on October 10 close to Manchester Road, near the River Croal at Raikes Clough, and is thought to have been there for ‘weeks or even months’.
Results from a Home Office post mortem revealed that the body was that of a woman but could not determine how she died.
Police are now asking for help in tracing the final movements of the woman in a bid to identify the remains and inform her family.
Detective Inspector Michael Fraser from Bolton North INPT said: “We still do not know how she died but our main priority is to find out who she is.”
“We believe her body may have been there for a few weeks or even months and I would ask anyone who may have seen a woman in this area who matches the description given to contact us.
“Alternatively, do you recognise any of the images or know of someone who owns such items? If you do, we are keen to hear from you as the information you supply may help us piece together her final movements and eventually help us to find out who she is.”
The woman is believed to have been between 18 and 25-years-old, most probably white and was between 5ft2 and 5ft 4 in tall.
She wore size 12 clothing and had long dark brown or black hair tied with a red bobble. She also had a number of facial piercings and pierced navel.
“Extensive enquiries have taken place and we are currently looking at missing person files across Greater Manchester and the rest of the UK,” DI Fraser said.
“However, so far, we have not been able to identify her and more importantly, inform her family that they have sadly lost a loved one.”
When officers found the woman she was wearing a dark navy blue or black duffle style coat with fur trimmed collar, black tight fitting trousers, a tee shirt with a diamante cat on the front, black cardigan and four to four and half size shin high black Doc Martin boots.
“When we searched the body, we found a number of items on her that we hope can help identity her,” said DI Fraser.
She was wearing a distinctive necklace with a bat pendant and had a chain secured to her waist band on which were a four inch pink ‘mini maglite’ style torch, an Aldi shopping trolley token with a black cat on the back, a PNY USB memory stick, a Sandisk 16GB microSD memory card and a Sony Walkman MP3 player.
In her trouser pocket was a train ticket and timetable for the Edinburgh to Manchester Airport train line.
Anyone with information should phone police on 0161 856 5619 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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