New appeal for missing Sacriston miner Edward Donnelly 20 years on

Edward Donnelly was last seen in Lloyds Bank in Sacriston on 25 March 2002

Police have renewed a 20-year-old appeal for information about a miner they believe to have been murdered.

Edward Donnelly, 53, went missing from his home in Sacriston near Durham in March 2002.

Durham Police said they believed people in the community had vital information which could help his family "finally get justice".

Five people were arrested in 2005 in connection with the case but all were released without charge.

Mr Donnelly, who had worked down Sacriston Pit, lived with his sister in Fynway and she reported him missing on 25 March 2002.

He was last seen in Lloyds Bank in Sacriston that morning and further sightings were also reported of him walking alone beside the A167 at Plawsworth, near the Red Lion pub that day.

Edward Donnelly was described by police as being quiet and unassuming

At the time of his disappearance, his sister said she had returned home later that day to find his keys and other documents posted through the letterbox.

Known to his family and friends as Eddie, Mr Donnelly enjoyed reading and walking in the Durham and Chester-le-Street area.

Despite extensive searches in the area - including several abandoned mineworkings and pit shafts - officers were unable at that time to find Mr Donnelly's body.

What began as a missing person's inquiry became a murder investigation.

Det Supt Lee Gosling said detectives were speaking to "a number of people connected with the case" and the force's major crime team was "re-examining evidence collated at the time".

He said: "Eddie Donnelly was a quiet and unassuming man and we have never given up on finding him.

"We have long held the belief that there are people in the village who know what happened to him and know who was involved."