Detectives are hoping to trace a lorry driver who was one of the last people to see a vulnerable young woman alive.
Cleveland Police has secured CCTV footage of Vicky Glass in the hours leading up to her disappearance in September 2000 when she was working as a prostitute to fund her drug addiction.
Now officers have descended on a tiny rural village to interview residents after the new evidence came to light more than two decades after the young woman was brutally murdered.
Her remains were discovered several weeks later dumped in a stream in the village of Danby on the North York Moors.
The newly found footage shows the 21-year-old walking with a friend in the Cannon Park area of Middlesbrough and provides a more accurate description of what she was wearing at the time of her abduction.
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Vicky is shown to be wearing light coloured trousers, a light-coloured top, white trainers and a dark coloured puffer style jacket.
Officers have spoken to the friend from the CCTV footage who provided important information to the investigation including that shortly after the footage was taken Vicky engaged in a conversation with a lorry driver who provided her with some money.
Vicky left some personal effects with the lorry driver and agreed to meet him later in the day. The lorry driver is described as male, white, 34 to 38 years old at the time, broad build and had a distinctive mole on his face.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Carr said: “We are calling on the residents of Danby to try and think back to November 2000. We now have CCTV footage and witness accounts showing Vicky fit and well in Middlesbrough in September 2000.
“A few months later her body was found in Danby, North Yorkshire. Vicky did not have access to a car and wasn’t known to frequent or have any association to Danby. Therefore, the enquiries being undertaken are crucial and we ask the residents to help if they can.
“We will be in Danby for a few days continuing our enquiries and will be based in the Village Hall so if you have new information or knew Vicky and have not spoken to the police before, please come forward.”
While in the village of Danby, officers will be distributing flyers and questionnaires to residents to try and jog people’s memories of any potential sightings of Vicky Glass in the area.
Vicky’s family issued a statement through the force, they said: “We feel the loss of Vicky every day, she deserves justice and hope that this reinvestigation puts those responsible behind bars.
“She did not deserve to have her life taken, no one had the right to do that.
“Vicky was loved deeply by us, and as a family we have been through turmoil especially as mam Deborah passed away without any answers, knowing Vicky’s killer is out there and people have information that they are not coming forward with.
“Please do the right thing and help get justice for Vicky and give our family some hope of healing. We plead with you to do the right thing by contacting the police or Crimestoppers.”
Four people have been arrested in connection with Vicky’s murder since 2000, but all have been released with no further action.
Information about Vicky and the case are available here: www.vickyglass.co.uk
Anyone with information can call the investigation team directly on 01642 301773, Cleveland Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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