Two bungalows – eight miles apart – have been sealed off by Cambridgeshire police after launching a murder probe. Detectives from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit declared the case a ‘no-body’ murder investigation last night (Friday 14 February).
Detective Inspector Richard Stott said: “Concern was raised for the woman on Thursday night and due to the length of time since she was last seen and concerns that she may have come to some harm, we are treating this as a murder investigation.”
Bungalows in the village of Christchurch and the town of March are being searched, and police remain outside both.
Cambridgeshire police initially turned their attention to the bungalow in Christchurch on Friday after the woman who lived there was reported missing.
Later, after it was announced by Cambridgeshire police it was now a ‘no-body- murder inquiry, the second bungalow in March became the focus of their attention. It, too, has been secured with police tape.
It follows the arrest of a 47-year-old man on suspicion of murder following a missing persons alert for a woman not seen at her home for more than two weeks.
Neighbours said they had not seen the woman for a while as Cambridgeshire police announced an arrest had been made.
Police taped off the missing woman’s house in Christchurch near March, Cambridgeshire, on Friday. Police cars were seen both at the back and front of the house and police tape circles the garden.
“The woman from Christchurch, who is in her 50s, has not been seen since late January and police have been carrying out enquiries and searches but so far to no avail,” said a spokesperson for Cambridgeshire police.
“Detectives are concerned enough about her welfare to treat her disappearance as a murder.”
The spokesperson confirmed that a 47-year-old man from Christchurch has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.
