Family's 'relief' that Pamela's body has finally been found

Police confirmed today (Thursday, May 30) that the body, which was found buried in a shallow grave on moors in West Yorkshire on Monday, is that of Pamela Jackson, 55, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

She was last seen at her home in The Crescent, Chester-le-Street, on Saturday March 2 and was officially reported missing the following Thursday.

What began as a missing person enquiry developed into a murder investigation despite no body being found.

Officers from Durham Constabulary and West Yorkshire Police have been carrying out extensive searches across a number of locations since then, with additional help from specialist marine units, mountain rescue volunteers and police helicopters.

The focus switched from the Chester-le-Street area to West Yorkshire, although heavy snow in March hampered the search effort.

They were in the Turvin Road area, close to Ripponden in West Yorkshire when they located the grave, about 60 metres from the roadside.

Ms Jackson was the mother of three adult sons, Andrew, Christopher and Joe, and a grandmother of four. She has three sisters.

A post mortem conducted by Home Office pathologist Dr Mark Egan concluded that Ms Jackson died from head injuries.

After police that Ms Jackson had been formally identified, her family issued a statement saying: "Although the weekend's developments came as a shock, our main feeling now is of enormous relief that Pamela has been found.

“The last few months have been a nightmare, all we have been able to do is sit and wait for news.

“Now we feel able to grieve properly and can think about bringing her home so we can give her a proper send-off.

"We also want to thank all those involved in the search, who have worked tirelessly in some very difficult conditions."

Adrian Muir, 50, from Halifax, a dry stone waller who is said to have been Ms Jackson’s partner, has been charged with her murder and is being held on remand awaiting trial.