Remains identified as missing young woman

Katherine Crabb's remains were discovered in dense undergrowth in Munery's Copse, a woodland area just off Cote Street in High Salvington, by a dog walker at 8.30am on Sunday. The 23-year-old's clothes and glasses were also found near her remains.

The discovery came nearly a year after Katherine, who had mental health problems and a suicidal history, went missing from her family home in Welland Road on April 21, 2004, after telling her mother she was going to spend the night with an old schoolfriend.

Katherine's dental records were used by police to identify her, but they will not know the cause of her death until a post mortem examination takes place next week. But police are not ruling anything out.

Detective sergeant Ray Scales, of Worthing police, said: "We were able to identify Katherine through her dental records and discovered it was her on Monday.

"We are still open minded about her death and are not ruling anything out. We will continue to search the scene."

Just after she went missing, Katherine's mother, Gaynor Bryant, revealed Katherine enjoyed walking and cycling in that area of the Downs and searches were carried out there, but nothing was found.

DS Scales added: "Her body was in undergrowth. I am unsure why it has taken so long to find her, but we will be looking into the original search area and why we missed her, or whether she went to the area after the search '” we just don't know."

At 12.45pm on April 21, Katherine left her home to go and

see a schoolfriend called Kelly Clark, who police believed didn't exist. She took with her a carrier bag which she said had a nightie in it.

But the following day when Mrs Bryant searched Katherine's bedroom she found the nightie hidden away.

Katherine, who had suffered with an OCD (Obssesive-Compulsive Disorder) since the age of 11, had no access to money and did not take her passport.

Two weeks after Katherine went missing, her family made an emotional plea for her to come home during a press conference at Worthing police's HQ, Centenary House, in Durrington.

Choking back the tears, Mrs Bryant and Olivia Channon, her older sister, described days after Katherine vanished as the "worst of their lives."

Mrs Bryant said in May last year Katherine had been

suffering with an OCD thought disorder, which meant she had a lot of negative thoughts and thought about things too deeply.

But Mrs Bryant said Katherine would not accept any help and cancelled sessions with her therapist behind her mother's back.