THE disappearance of three young Teesside women are to be re-examined by a specialist team of investigators.

Cleveland Police has secured £3.77m to try to solve the murders of Rachel Wilson and Vicky Glass - and the disappearance of Donna Keogh.

Donna's disappearance has also been declared a murder investigation by detectives.

All three disappeared from Middlesbrough between 1998 and 2002.

Last year, Cleveland Police and Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner applied for a special grant from the Home Office to fund the investigation of three separate historic cases.

Cleveland PCC Barry Coppinger said: “In such longstanding unsolved cases as these my thoughts are always with the family and friends who grieve each day for the unexplained disappearance of their loved ones.

"It's very important that no stone is left unturned in our efforts to discover what happened to these three young women and in seeking justice for them.

“For that reason I am delighted we have been successful in a bid for £3.77m from the Home Office to fund an Historic Investigation Unit (HIU) which will focus on a range of specific cases which have been investigated before but remain unsolved.

"The central grant we have received means we will not need to divert funds from day-to-day policing or use money from the local precept, to pay for this important work.

"It may be there are people out there who have knowledge about these cases and have not yet come forward.

"Whatever the reason for that, I would urge them now to take the step of contacting the police, however trivial the information may seem it may be vital in building up the picture of what happened to these young women.”

Assistant Chief Constable Jason Harwin said: “The HIU will look into the deaths of Vicky Glass in 2000, Rachel Wilson in 2002 and the disappearance of Donna Keogh in 1998.

“There is commonality between the cases through the sex and ages of the victims and all being linked geographically to Middlesbrough. It is too early in the re-investigations to say if there are any other links.

“In our funding bid to the Home Office we made it clear that these are complex investigations that will require meticulous investigation over a number of years to complete.

"We will continue to work closely with the families of the three victims to keep them informed of developments and will also seek the ongoing support the public, and the media, as the investigations progress.”

  • More details to follow