Body at Queen's estate identified as missing teenager

[News_Editor]

Body at Queen's estate identified as missing teenager

2012-01-09 17:04:49 GMT+7 (ICT)

NORFOLK, ENGLAND (BNO NEWS) -- Human remains which were found on the Queen's Sandringham estate in eastern England on New Year's Day have been identified as a missing 17-year-old girl, police said on Sunday.

The remains were found by a member of the public at around 4 p.m. local time on New Year's Day in an area of woodland at Anmer, a tiny village which is part of Sandringham estate in Norfolk county. The investigation later turned into a murder investigation.

Detective Chief Inspector Jes Fry, of the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team and who is leading the investigation, said Sunday that the remains have been identified as 17-year-old Alisa Dmitrijeva. She had been missing from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire since August 31, although she was not reported missing until September 6.

It took police nearly a week to confirm the girl's identity as earlier tests to establish a DNA profile proved inconclusive. "Following initial tests to obtain a full DNA profile, identification of the victim has been made by comparing detail from her palm with records held which have been further verified by DNA from her femur," police said.

Fry said his department would start working with officers in Cambridgeshire who have been trying to locate Dmitrijeva in recent months. "The information they provide will give me and the team an extra focus to the inquiry," he said. "I should also add we are still trying to establish any activity which took place on or around the site during the time frame of the end of August to the end of September 2011."

Dmitrijeva's family was informed of the news on Sunday morning and said they were devastated. "We are devastated by the news of Alisa's death. We wish to grieve in private," the family said in a brief statement.

The case has attracted worldwide attention as Dmitrijeva was found in an area which is part of Sandringham estate. The estate of Queen Elizabeth II is used by the royal family to spend some of its holidays, including the recent Christmas and New Year's holidays.

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