Murder hunt detectives are looking at the unsolved murder of a prostitute and the disappearance of two other girls.

Detective Superintendent Tony Hutchinson co-head of a newly launched dedicated Murder Investigation Team confirmed today he is convinced 19-year-old prostitute Rachael Wilson, who went missing from Middlesbrough town centre on May 30, 2002 has been murdered.

Rachel who 'worked' the Woodlands and Southfield Road are of the town, disappeared just weeks after the fourth anniversary of teenager Donna Keogh's disappearance.

Detective Supt Hutchinson revealed the same detectives will look again at the disappearance of 17-year-old Donna who vanished without trace from the same area of Middlesbrough town centre in April 1998.

"We have members of staff conducting some inquiries with regard to Donna,'' he disclosed, yesterday, the same day Cleveland Police officially unveiled the new, hand picked squad, each one of whom has experience of investigating murders.

"Clearly as time goes on, it becomes more difficult, certainly to find potential witnesses. Memories get distorted over the passing of time. Some people genuinely cannot remember and forget.

"We are going through a lot of information - a check list - to try and establish once and for all whether Donna is still alive; that is the sort of starting point.''

The joint head of the murder squad is Detective Supt Brian Dunn, who led the inquiry into the unsolved murder of Middlesbrough prostitute Vicky Glass, 21, whose decomposed remains where found on moorland near Danby, in November 2000 - two months after she disappeared.

Det Supt Hutchinson claimed police were not linking the disappearance of Donna and Rachael with the unsolved murder of Vicky Glass and were not looking for a serial killer.

The two detective superintendents will head a unit of four detective sergeants , 14 constables and two police civilian staff.

Det Supt Hutchinson said: "It is an excellent move as far as the force is concerned. It will allow a team of very experienced and dedicated officers to respond quickly to any suspicious death.''

Detective Chief Supt John Kelly, the Force's Head of Crime - and the driving force behind the initiative - said: "Every time there was a murder we had to draw people away from front line policing to staff the murder incident room. This will no longer happen now the team is up and running.''