Melanie Hall: Family of murdered Bath woman who went missing 30 years ago says 'more than one person' knows what happened to her

The family of a young woman who was murdered after going missing following a night out clubbing in Bath 30 years ago say they believe "more than one person" knows what happened to her.

Melanie Hall was 25 when she was last seen at the former Cadillacs nightclub in the early hours of Sunday, 9 June 1996, sitting by the side of the dancefloor on her own.

It was 13 years later - in 2009 - that her remains, wrapped in black bin bags and tied up with blue rope, were found by a workman on a slip road off the M5 motorway near Thornbury.

Ms Hall, a clerical worker at the Royal United Hospital, had suffered extensive head injuries.

Her clothing, jewellery and belongings have never been found, including a pale blue silk dress, black suede mule shoes, cream single-breasted jacket, Next watch, an expanding bracelet, silver drop earrings and a black handbag.

To mark the anniversary of her disappearance, Avon and Somerset Police are issuing a fresh appeal for information.

Melanie's father, Steve, 82, hopes to get justice for his daughter:

He said: "If it's 30 years, 40 years, 50 years, whatever it takes to come to a conclusion. For my own part, I just hope I live long enough to see a conclusion.

"I think there's probably more than one person who knows what happened to Melanie… what we're hoping, and always have hoped, is that at some point in time there will be a change of mind."

Despite 11 arrests over the last three decades, the most recent in 2016, no one has ever been charged with her murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Ben Lavender said the case has involved hundreds of officers over the years, calling it "one of the longest running and highest profile investigations ever carried out by Avon and Somerset Police".

"Melanie's family have endured unimaginable pain and uncertainty for three decades and have shown extraordinary strength and resilience throughout this time. Everything we do is driven by the need to provide them with the justice and answers they so desperately need," he added.

The new campaign focuses on events taking place that summer - in particular, the Saturday night Melanie had gone out, the same day England drew 1-1 with Switzerland in the opening match of Euro '96.

Dominique Hall, Melanie's sister, says she wants to appeal to female members of the community "such as a mum or a sister out there that has got a husband or a brother or a son… that might have a doubt about a male person in their life and I'd think you know if that was you and that was your daughter and think about what my mum's been through".

"I feel very angry that she lost her life at 25, that someone chose to take that away from her. I feel angry that I lost my sister… it's like I've lost part of myself, part of my identity," she added.

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Thinking back to the days after Melanie went missing, Mr Hall said he could remember "driving down to the police station and I'd actually got this idea in my head that it might have been the last time we would ever see her, you know, it was actually dawning on me that there was a major problem and something serious might have happened to her".

He added: "The Bath Chronicle came out every day and I'd buy a newspaper and my daughter would be all across the front page and then driving home at night I'd see police officers poking around in the hedges and I don't think I could really get my head around that."

(c) Sky News 2026: Melanie Hall: Family of murdered Bath woman who went missing 30