COPS searching for a missing woman have found a strand of human hair close to where she was last seen.
Julie Buckley, 54 was last captured on CCTV on January 28 in a Budgens store in the village of March, Cambridgeshire.
Julie Buckley went missing in late January and is ‘likely to have come to serious harm’[/caption]
Two bungalows eight miles apart have been sealed off by Cambridgeshire Police[/caption]
A local fisherman spotted the hair somewhere on Six Foot Bank – a wide drainage ditch which runs across the Cambridgeshire Fens and handed it over to detectives.
Cambridgeshire Police are currently doing tests to see if the strand matches the missing woman’s DNA.
It comes after cops launched a “no-body” murder investigation on February 14 following Julie’s shock disappearance.
Karl Hutchings, 47, from the same village, was charged with her murder.
Hutchings is due to appear for a plea hearing on 17 March and a trial date has been set for 21 September.
Three more people have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
A man, 49, and woman, 42, from Christchurch have been released on bail while another man, 45, has been remanded in custody.
Two bungalows eight miles apart were also previously sealed off in connection with the investigation.
The circumstances suggested Julie likely came to “serious harm”.
Police are still appealing for any information about Julie’s whereabouts and is urging anyone who has seen her in recent weeks to get in touch.
Detective Inspector Richard Stott appeared on BBC’s Crimewatch Live programme to ask for further information.
He said: “We strongly believe Julie may have come to harm and we’re carrying out thorough searches of the area.
“Our dive teams have been searching the water around the Bedlam Bridge and Boots Bridge areas and a fisherman discovered what we believe to be human hair in the water.
“We’re awaiting results from that hair to ascertain if it belongs to Julie.
“In the meantime, we’re issuing a widespread appeal today to ask for anyone with information to please come forward, as well as anyone with dashcam footage from the March and Christchurch areas, particularly around Bedlam Bridge and Boots Bridge, on January 29 and 30.
“We’re also appealing to dog walkers, fishermen, farmers and land owners in the area.
If you notice disturbed land or anything unusual or out of place, please report it to us.”
Divers were seen trying to locate Julie on February 15[/caption]
Specialist forensic fire investigation experts combed the local area[/caption]
