Danielle Jones murder: Excavation planned at garage site

The body of Danielle Jones has never been found

Excavation work at a garage block in the hunt for the body of murdered schoolgirl Danielle Jones will be carried out later.

Stuart Campbell, 59, an uncle of the teenager, was jailed for life for her abduction and murder in 2002.

Danielle, 15, was last seen at a bus stop near her home in East Tilbury on 18 June 2001.

Ground penetrating radar is currently being used by Essex Police to scan the garage site in Stifford Clays.

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On Monday, Essex Police confirmed a "non specific" lead about the garages between Goddard Road and Crammavill Street had been passed to them in 2001.

However, despite this the garages were not searched at the time.

Danielle's parents Linda and Tony Jones visiting the scene of the police search on Monday

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Worron, head of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said on the second day of the latest search: "I'm pleased with the progress we've made so far and today the focus of our activity is to work with some national search specialists and forensic archaeologists to identify once and for all whether Danielle's body has been buried here for the last 16 years.

"That work will include the use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and there will also be some excavation work that will be undertaken following the GPR work under way at the moment."

"It's important for me to stress, I put no timescale about how long the work is going to take to complete."

Stuart Campbell, who was an uncle by marriage to Danielle, was jailed for life in 2002

Campbell, a builder and father-of-two, was told he would serve at least 20 years of his life sentence for murder.

He was also sentenced to 10 years for Danielle's abduction, which he is serving concurrently.

Campbell will be eligible for parole in four years' time.