Detectives investigating the murder of 13-year-old Amanda Dowler have finally ruled out any connection to a church where a mystery DNA link was discovered.

The Surrey schoolgirl, also known as Milly, disappeared on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames, in March last year.

Her remains were discovered in woodland in Hampshire six months later and police are continuing their hunt for her killer.

In January, a sample of a man's DNA found on a coffee cup at St Paul's Church in Ryhope, near Sunderland, was matched to a stain found on the girl's clothing.

Officers from Surrey subsequently visited the North-East and collected swabs from 55 men linked to the church, although none matched the mystery sample.

The sample had been taken from the church when police attended the scene following a break-in there in October and was matched via a national database to the sample found on Milly's clothing.

The same DNA was found on a corset-style bodice that Milly had bought from New Look in September 2001 for a Halloween party.

The top was found in Milly's bedroom at her home and could have been bought from the New Look shop in Kingston, Surrey. It is believed she never wore the garment.

Police had already said that they believed the DNA match could be a coincidence.

One idea is that the top was originally sold in Sunderland but was taken back to the shop and redistributed to the South of England.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said yesterday: ''We have now decided that this line of inquiry is unlikely to be of further benefit.

''This was something of a mystery that we thought was probably just a coincidence."