A painstaking forensic search is under way in West Sussex today after police investigating the disappearance of eight-year-old Sarah Payne confirmed that the partially covered body of a small female had been discovered in a field close to an agricultural college.
The body has not been formally identified.
The young girl's body was discovered by a man walking in fields close to Brinsbury College, in Pulborough, which is close to a public footpath beside the A29, at about 11 a.m. It is about 10 miles from where Sarah disappeared on July 1st near Littlehampton, West Sussex.
The death is being treated as suspicious, but police stressed yesterday they could not afford to "jump to conclusions", and the search for Sarah Payne would continue "until there is a definite reason otherwise".
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.
Despite the discovery, officers are still pursuing information about a white van seen in the Littlehampton area when Sarah disappeared.
However, police officers have publicly stated that they are not aware of reports of any other missing girls in Sussex who could be considered as a possible link to yesterday's discovery.
As a white tent was erected to cover the spot where the body was found, Sussex police admitted that identification of the body was likely to take some time.
Preservation of the scene and evidence-gathering will be a delicate and exhaustive operation, and because of the large size of the field in which the girl was discovered a fingertip search is likely to take several days. Last night a Home Office pathologist and forensic experts joined the investigation at the scene.
The body was discovered in an area outside the so-called "search corridor" close to the A24, but police said that although the area had not been previously searched they were confident officers would have reached the area in the second wave of the search.
Few details were available, but it is thought that the girl's body had lain undiscovered for some time since it was concealed in undergrowth in the field close to a fern hedge, which would have shielded it from the road. It was also confirmed that the body was partly concealed, including the face.
Speaking at a press conference at Brinsbury College, Sussex Police Assistant Chief Constable Mr Nigel Yeo confirmed the discovery.
It represented "another trauma" for Sarah's family, who had been informed of the development, even if it did not prove to be connected with their daughter's disappearance. And even if the body was not that of Sarah Payne, he said, it would be a great loss for the dead girl's family.
"Even if there is no connection with the discovery, the sheer circumstances represent another trauma for the family, who have had their fair share of traumas," Mr Yeo told a hushed press conference.
And as he admitted that the mood among his officers was "grim", he said: "Everyone shared a great degree of hope that we would find Sarah alive. There is a lot of sadness because whatever has happened, what we have down the road is a human tragedy, whoever it is."
Mr Yeo said the investigation at the scene could take several days. "It is a significant crime scene that has to be dealt with very carefully," he said.
"It's a very, very slow process particularly as you bring in the experts. You don't uncover the body, the face particularly, that being one of the parts of the body that was covered, until later on."
Det Supt Alan Ladley and family liaison officers informed Sarah's family of the discovery, and Mr Yeo said the family had asked for their privacy to be respected. "The conversations between them and the officers must remain private, but we are seeking professional help to support them at this time."
In a separate development yesterday police in London searching for a missing five-year-old boy recovered his body from a lock close to the family home in north London. Andrea Auriglietti disappeared from his home on Sunday while playing with other local children.
His mother, Mrs Rita Auriglietti, had earlier issued an emotional appeal for his return, urging anyone who might have abducted her son to take him to a police station. Last night police were questioning four boys as part of their investigation into Andrea's death.
Residents living in the rolling countryside surrounding Brinsbury College last night spoke of their shock following the discovery of a girl's body.
Rachel Tuppen 31, teaches students with learning difficulties at the agricultural college.
She said: "It's absolutely sickening, it makes me feel physically sick.
"There's only one punishment that can fit that crime and hanging has been abolished."
