LONDON (Reuters) – British police investigating the 1968 disappearance of a teenage girl who was a suspected victim of one of the country’s most notorious serial killers, Fred West, have failed to find any remains in their latest search.
Gloucestershire Police said earlier this month they had launched an investigation at The Clean Plate cafe in the city after a production company filming a documentary there found possible evidence a body could be buried within the property.
The police said on Thursday the excavation work had been completed and no human remains or items of significance had been found.
West took his own life in prison in 1995 after confessing to 12 murders while his wife Rosemary was convicted later that year of killing 10 girls and young women, with most of their victims chopped up and buried in their home in Gloucester which became known as “The House of Horrors”.
Fred West, a builder, was also linked to a 13th victim, teenage waitress Mary Bastholm who vanished in 1968, but her body has never been found.
“Mary’s family have been updated and is continuing to receive support from family liaison officers,” the police said. “The cafe will be handed back to its owners once reparation work is completed.”
(Reporting by Kate Holton. Editing by Andrew MacAskill)
