Sarah Benford murder: Friends urged to talk to police

The lead detective investigating the murder of a teenage girl from Kettering said he hoped her friends would feel able to talk 16 years after she disappeared.

Sarah Benford, 14, was last seen in the town in April 2000.

Police began investigating her murder in 2003, although a body has never been found and no-one has been charged.

Speaking as police began searching for Sarah's body in woodland near Warkton, Det Ch Insp Martin Kinchin said he believed allegiances would have changed and hoped her old friends might now feel "empowered" to come forward.