Carol Clark: Police appeal over woman murdered more than 30 years ago

Detectives investigating the murder of a woman who was found dead by a canal more than 30 years ago have made a fresh appeal for help to find who killed her.

Carol Clark's partially clothed body was found by a dog walker in reeds and undergrowth at the side of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.

The 32-year-old sex worker, who lived in Bristol, had been strangled and her neck had been broken.

She was last seen getting into a Volvo car in the Montpelier area of the city at about 11.30pm on 26 March 1993.

Detectives said she was "wearing distinctive clothing" when she went missing - a black baseball cap, brown leather jacket, blue denim mini skirt, black polo-neck jumper and plain blue T-shirt.

Hours earlier she had left a note for her boyfriend saying she was going out to find work. She planned to be home by 2.30am, but she never returned.

When she was discovered two days later close to the water at Sharpness Docks, she was wearing only her underwear and boots. The rest of her clothes have never been recovered.

Gloucestershire Police launched a large-scale murder investigation - and extensive enquiries and reviews of the case have since taken place.

Detectives reopened the case three years ago, following a previous public appeal, after a witness told them they saw a woman matching Ms Clark's description walking along Berkeley bypass with two men.

In recent years, three men have been arrested on suspicion of her murder: a 69-year-old man from Gloucestershire, a 48-year-old man from Lincolnshire and a 66-year-old man from Newcastle.

Detectives have since ruled the man from Newcastle out of their inquiry, but the two other men remain under investigation.

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Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Usher, who is leading the investigation, said: "We strongly suspect Carol was alive all of Saturday 27 March 1993 and she was potentially with two men.

"We also suspect Carol's body will have been left at Sharpness Docks in daylight hours at a time when there were lots of people around celebrating the 200th anniversary of the British Waterways.

"Carol was wearing distinctive clothing at the time she went missing and so we are once again asking anyone who can recall seeing her that Saturday or seeing anyone behaving suspiciously to contact us.

"You could have the final piece of the jigsaw which helps us catch those responsible for her death."

He added: "This weekend marks the 33rd anniversary of the day her body was discovered and so we wanted to use this opportunity to once again appeal for anyone who may have information which could help us.

"I am convinced someone out there knows what happened to Carol and we remain committed to doing everything we can to secure justice for her and her family."

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