A small team of cold case detectives and family liaison officers from North Yorkshire Police have flown to Thailand to meet the parents and family of Lamduan Armitage (nee Seekanya), whose body was found in the Dales in 2004, but only identified in 2019.

Walkers discovered Lamduan’s body at Sell Gill near Pen-y-ghent, above Horton in Ribblesdale in the Yorkshire Dales, on 20 September 2004.

Her identity remained unknown until early 2019 when the force’s Major Investigation Team’s Cold Case Review Unit achieved a breakthrough using a combination of media coverage and DNA testing.

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Lamduan's parents, in north east Thailand, came forward to North Yorkshire Police in January of that year after seeing a BBC article online about the case, having not seen their daughter since 2004.

When DNA testing was carried out it confirmed that the woman's body was that of Lamduan.

She was a mother of three who was living in the north of England at the time of her unexplained death.

There were initially legal delays for North Yorkshire Police's investigation team to get permission to fly to Thailand which were further hampered by international travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused this part of the investigation to be put on hold for almost four years.

Adam Harland, Manager of the Cold Case Review Unit, has called for people to avoid speculating about the case on social media.

“North Yorkshire Police is aware of the widespread interest in this investigation which strikes at the heart of issues surrounding violence against women and girls in the United Kingdom, in Thailand, and around the world," he said.

“To ensure that the investigation and the path of fair justice are not compromised, we strongly urge the media and people using social media to avoid damaging speculation about this case.

“After almost 19 years, during which time the community of Horton in Ribblesdale have shown respect and care for Lamduan when she was only known as the ‘Lady of the Hills’, it would be a tragedy if we were prevented from achieving this outcome due to damaging reporting and online speculation.”

The Northern Echo: An artist's impression of Lamduan that was used by police before the identification of her body.An artist's impression of Lamduan that was used by police before the identification of her body.

“Despite the difficulties we have faced to progress the investigation in recent years, we remain determined to seek answers for Lamduan’s family about the circumstances of her being found dead in a beautiful but remote part of the Yorkshire Dales in September 2004.

“It has been frustrating to have had to wait so long to be able to travel to Thailand. We are hoping to speak with all the members of her family, including her husband, to gather their evidence about her life and to offer what support we can with regards to their loss.

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“The loss of any family member in circumstances of homicide is a terrible blow, bringing a misery and a sense of loss that so often lasts a lifetime. There is, in this case, the additional pain that for 14 years it was not even known that this had been Lamduan’s fate."

Anybody who believes they may have information that might assist the investigation is urged to contact the North Yorkshire Police incident room on 01609 643147 (put +44 before the number if calling from outside the UK) or to email coldcasereviewunit@northyorkshire.police.uk and to quote reference number 12170002439 when providing information about this case.