POLICE investigating the unexplained death of former solicitor Peter Maine have released details of seven people they are keen to trace.

Mr Maine, aged 56 was found dying on a riverside footpath opposite the running track at Maiden Castle sports centre just after 8am on Sunday, September 1.

He had three wounds to his chest and was confirmed dead shortly after being taken to the University Hospital of North Durham.

Three of the seven people are believed to have been on the Pelaw Woods side of the river around the time Mr Maine was found.

  • The first was a woman with blond hair in her 40’s who was jogging in the area at around 7.45am.
  • The second is a man thought to be aged in his 20’s or 30’s with dark hair cycling in the area at around 7.45am.
  • The third person is described as a man in his 30’s wearing dark clothing walking towards the sports centre’s Rose Tree pub exit at around 7.50am.

The other four people are believed to have been on the Maiden Castle side of the river around the time of the incident.

  • The first is a man who was jogging near to the bandstand area of the riverbank at around 7.30am. This man has been described as having sandy coloured hair.
  • The second is a man described as 5ft 11ins tall with dark hair wearing a tracksuit heading towards the boat house area of the riverbank at around 7.30am.
  • The third is a man jogging in casual clothing near to the bandstand/bull ring area of the riverbank.
  • The final person police are keen to trace is a man described as being in his 70’s walking a spaniel dog possibly called Charlie in the bandstand area at the time of the incident.

The man leading the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Steve Chapman said: “My investigation team are continuing to keep an open mind on how Mr Maine died and are not ruling out any plausible explanation for how he came to receive his injuries.”

DCI Chapman added: “The investigation remains very much active and no conclusions have been reached at this stage.

"It is with this in mind I am appealing to the public to get in touch if they know the identity of any of the seven people we are looking to trace, I am hopeful they can assist in progressing the investigation and would urge anyone with information to contact us.

"We are continuing to keep Peter’s family abreast of the investigation as it develops and supporting them at this extremely difficult time."