麻豆约拍

The lead detective DCI Martin Kinchin says friends of Sarah Benford are "empowered" to come forward now with new information.

Police investigating Sarah Benford's murder who disappeared 16 years ago have begun searching a wooded area in Northamptonshire.

Sarah Benford, 14, went missing from her care home in Northampton in April 2000. A murder investigation began three years later.

Detectives are carrying out new searches in woodland near Warkton.

A recent review of the case including interviews with 20 people led to the decision to search the area.