Sian police focus efforts on 'missing woman from Wiltshire' as they search for second body
- Police searched through the night for second body in Eastleach, Glos
- Taxi driver, 47, from Swindon, held on suspicion of two murders
- Second body could be missing woman Linda Razzell who vanished in 2002
- Razzell's car had been parked close to spot where Sian disappeared
Huge mounds of earth were piled up at the isolated spot in the Cotswolds after search teams used JCBs through the night at the area picked out by murder suspect Chris Halliwell.
Detectives were today given more time to question Halliwell over Sian's death after applying to Swindon Magistrates' Court for an extension.
Police searches continued at the field near Eastleach today as investigators hunted for a second body
Loss: A huge carpet of floral tributes has built up outside Suju nightclub in Swingdon
A force spokesman said: 'The 47 year old man arrested on suspicion of kidnap and two murders appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court this morning where an application was made for a warrant of further detention.
'An extension was granted which will end at approximately 3.15am Monday 28th March 2011. This takes into account the change to British Summer Time. The man remains in custody at Gablecross Police Station in Swindon.'
Meanwhile, they are concentrating their efforts on a historic case of a 'missing adult from Wiltshire' as they scour the land near Eastleach for any sign of human remains.
One possibility was said to be Linda Razzell, who vanished in March 2002 after parking her car just a few streets away from where Miss O'Callaghan went missing in Swindon.
The body of Mrs Razzell, who was 41 when she disappeared, has never been found, and her husband Glyn, 52, was jailed for life in 2003.
But yesterday her family said they did not believe police investigating Miss O’Callaghan’s death would find her body.
Julie Westmore, 58, who became guardian to Mrs Razzell’s four children after she disappeared, said yesterday: ‘We have not been contacted by the police.
’The husband is in jail for murder and we know without a shadow of a doubt that he did it. I’m sure if the police thought it was Linda they would have been in contact.’
Is this the second murder victim? The body of Sian O'Callaghan, left, was discovered on Thursday, and right, Linda Razzell who went missing after parking her car near the place where Sian was kidnapped
Despite 24 hours of intensive police activity, no human remains had been found last night and there was no indication of the name or even the gender of the missing person.
Arrested: Taxi driver Chris Halliwell, a father of three, pictured here at an outdoor event
The search of the field at Eastleach, Gloucestershire – 25 miles from Miss O’Callaghan’s home town of Swindon – will continue today.
Police were yesterday granted permission to continue questioning taxi driver Halliwell.
The 47-year-old father of three has taken Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher to two separate locations including Uffington Hill, Oxfordshire, where Miss O’Callaghan’s body was found on Thursday afternoon.
Police believe her killer initially took her to Savernake Forest, where the last signal from her mobile phone was received, and that the body was later moved to Uffington.
Wiltshire police confirmed they had been in contact with officers involved with the hunt for the killer of Melanie Hall, who disappeared from a nightclub in nearby Bath in 1996.
But as detectives removed belongings – including two spades – from Halliwell’s house, the two cases had not been formally linked.
In total, officers took ten bags of evidence from the property in transparent plastic bags including garden tools, clothes and a black refuse bag.
Hunt for evidence: Police search bins outside a house in Swindon in connection with the double murder
Fine-tooth comb: Police search old boxes and bags of rubbish outside the neighbour's home of a man being held on suspicion of murdering Sian O'Callaghan
Huge police hunt: Officers continue their investigation after working through the night
Police are trying to trace the owners of vehicles previously owned by Halliwell, which they want to examine.
Mr Fulcher added that the search of the Eastleach site was a ‘very slow and painstaking process’ and added: ‘We don’t know at this stage what we are dealing with.
Hunt: Officers search near Wantage, Oxfordshire, where the body of Sian O'Callaghan was discovered
Dig: Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher said at a press conference they are searching for body number two
Two mechanical excavators dug up soil to a depth of 4ft next to a dry stone wall in a ploughed field near Baxter’s Farm in Eastleach. Halliwell is understood to have been ‘very specific’ about the site.
More than a dozen specialists in white suits scanned the earth in an area 20ft square as a specialist dog unit of two cocker spaniels also searched the ground.
Investigation: A team of officers scour the scene where 22-year-old Sian was found for clues into the killing. A 47-year-old man is in custody
Tributes: Flowers are laid outside the Suju nightclub in Swindon after the body of missing Sian O'Callaghan was discovered by police
Tributes: The office administrator, 22, vanished after leaving the nightclub in the early hours of Saturday. Her mobile phone signal was last detected in woodland a short while after
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Earlier yesterday, Mr Fulcher revealed that Halliwell was arrested on the strength of CCTV images taken outside the Suju nightclub in Swindon, where Miss O’Callaghan was last seen in the early hours of March 19.
The footage suggested that the secretary had been abducted shortly after leaving the club by the driver of a green Toyota Avensis estate taxi.
Mr Fulcher explained: ‘CCTV images gave me an indication that the abduction of Sian was conducted by a individual driving a green Toyota Avensis.
‘The priority was obviously to find Sian hopefully safe and well. On Thursday the vehicle was stopped and a man was arrested on suspicion of the kidnap of Sian.
‘During the course of dealing with him I personally was taken to two places by this individual, one near Uffington where we discovered the body of a woman we believe was Sian.
‘I believe Sian’s body was moved to the Uffington area by this individual.’
The search at Eastleach continued throughout Thursday night, he said, adding: ‘It is a very painstaking, slow process. It is not a simple process to ascertain whether there is a second body at that location.’
The excavation started on Thursday evening when powerful lamps were set up to allow work to continue overnight.
Detective Chief Inspector Sean Memory of Wiltshire Police said: ‘We’ve been here carefully searching the area with specialist teams. It’s a specific area that we’re looking at and we’ve yet to discover a body.’
Earlier yesterday, Mr Fulcher revealed that Halliwell was arrested on the strength of CCTV images taken outside the Suju nightclub in Swindon, where Miss O’Callaghan was last seen in the early hours of March 19.
The footage suggested that the secretary had been abducted shortly after leaving the club by the driver of a green Toyota Avensis estate taxi.
Mr Fulcher explained: ‘CCTV images gave me an indication that the abduction of Sian was conducted by a individual driving a green Toyota Avensis.
‘The priority was obviously to find Sian hopefully safe and well. On Thursday the vehicle was stopped and a man was arrested on suspicion of the kidnap of Sian.
Posters: The suspect's car, which was taken away by police, had two posters issued by officers in the hunt for Sian in the back window
'Concerning': The Japanese-themed Suju nightclub in Swindon, Wiltshire, where Sian was last sighted. Right, her boyfriend Kevin Reape reads a statement
‘I believe Sian’s body was moved to the Uffington area by this individual.’
The search at Eastleach continued throughout Thursday night, he said, adding: ‘It is a very painstaking, slow process. It is not a simple process to ascertain whether there is a second body at that location.’
The excavation started on Thursday evening when powerful lamps were set up to allow work to continue overnight.
Detective Chief Inspector Sean Memory of Wiltshire Police said: ‘We’ve been here carefully searching the area with specialist teams. It’s a specific area that we’re looking at and we’ve yet to discover a body.’
Famous: Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire where police said they had found two bodies
A tent was later set up at the three-bedroom semi where he lives with his girlfriend, twice-married Heather Widdowson, who has three daughters, at least one of whom knew Miss O’Callaghan.
Halliwell’s house is a short distance from where Miss O’Callaghan lived with her boyfriend Kevin Reape, 25.
Dramatic: Police surrounded the car following the swoop outside an Asda Walmart store in Swindon yesterday
Hunt: Police cordoned off a semi-detached home in Swindon as part of the investigation
Clues? Forensic officers entered a semi-detached home in Swindon yesterday afternoon following the arrest outside Asda in Swindon while, right, police load evidence into a van
Mourning: Friends and family left candles cards and roses on the steps of the nightclub
One poster, surrounded by candles, read: ‘Sian, Swindon will sadly miss you.’
■ Radio 4 yesterday postponed a drama about the disappearance of a woman, told through the eyes of a taxi driver, following the discovery of Miss O’Callaghan’s body.
It withdrew the penultimate episode of the Cottonopolis series and also the conclusion on Monday out of sensitivity following the developments in the police hunt this week.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘In light of recent events we have postponed the broadcast of today’s episode of the drama Cottonopolis. The Monday Afternoon Play which would have been the conclusion will also be postponed and we plan to broadcast both at a later date.
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