Detectives yesterday informed the anguished parents of missing British schoolgirl Sarah Payne that they had found the body of a young girl in undergrowth 10 miles from where the eight-year-old vanished.
Police said they were keeping an open mind as to whether the body was that of the missing schoolgirl until formal identification had taken place, but were unaware of any other missing girls from the area who it could be.
The discovery, 17 days after Sarah went missing from a country lane in Kingston Gorse, west Sussex, was made by a young farm worker as he walked in a field alongside the A29 motorway.
The body was removed from the field last night and was understood to have been taken to a mortuary at Worthing Hospital where a post-mortem examination will take place in the next few days.
Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Yeo, of Sussex police, said that a British Home Office pathologist was at the scene examining the body, which was found 25 yards from a hedge separating the field from the busy main road which runs north through the west Sussex countryside.
The body was believed to have lain undiscovered for some time, hidden from the main road by high ferns and dense undergrowth. Mr Yeo said parts of the body were covered up, including the face.
Identification was likely to take some time, he said, as scientists and officers carried out detailed investigations across an area which would extend to acres. He said: "It's a very very slow process, particularly as you bring in the experts."
Police were last night involved in a painstaking forensic examination of the body which is feared could be the youngster.
Scientists were taking DNA samples and the surrounding area for fast-track examination to establish if the victim had been assaulted.
Results from other tests could mean a cause of death could be known within two days.
The body was discovered face down and partially covered.
Working amid the dense undergrowth in which the body was found Home Office pathologist Vesna Djurovic has already begun a detailed examination of the body, during which DNA samples will be taken away for testing.
In the meantime officers are combing the wider area in the hunt for clues - a task which is likely to last until Thursday.
It could be tomorrow at the earliest before the identity is confirmed but this task could also take two weeks.