Murder investigation after woman's body found

Scene at Orrell Water Park where the body was found

Police made the grim discovery of a teenager’s body in Orrell Water Park at around 2.30am on Saturday.

A search was launched at around 7.20pm on Friday after an 18-year-old woman failed to return home from college, which her concerned family described as extremely out of character.

Efforts were concentrated on the water park after friends reported she had last been there.

Formal identification of the woman, who sustained head injuries, has yet to take place and the police say they are keeping an open mind as to what happened.

Police expressed their condolences to the woman’s loved ones and vowed to find those responsible for the shocking incident.

Detective Superintendent Howard Millington from GMP’s major incident team said: “First of all my thoughts are with the woman’s family at this devastating time.

“This was a brutal attack on a young woman, the type rarely seen in Greater Manchester.

“We have a full investigation team working on finding out what exactly happened to her and to try and find the person who did this.

“We are appealing for anyone who may have seen anyone in the area acting suspiciously to get in touch with police as soon as possible.

“During our preliminary investigations we have come across a report of two young women being followed by two men in the area on Thursday June 15.

“We are keeping an open mind about this, however, we would like to hear from anyone who may have any information about any recent incidents of this nature.

“Any information, no matter how small, could be vital to our investigation.

“I understand that there will be many people in the community extremely worried, things like this don’t happen in Orrell, but I would like to reassure them that we are working as hard as we possibly can to get the answers to all of the questions.

“There will be a large police presence in the area for some time as we investigate and also on the streets surrounding the area as a precaution. If you have any concerns, please speak to our officers.

“This is very much an ongoing investigation, we will leave no stone unturned and myself and my team will not stop until we have found out exactly what happened and have brought whoever did this to justice.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 7103, call 101 or ring the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.