THE grim find of a naked murdered woman on a bleak moorland has ended the six-week mystery surrounding a missing prostitute.

Detectives were yesterday investigating the spot on the North York Moors which became the final resting place of 21-year-old Vicky Glass.

Officers, who revealed the find yesterday, said that a man out walking his dog discovered the body on Friday.

They now hope that her clients will come forward to offer information which may lead them to her killer.

The Middlesbrough woman had been visiting an address in the town's Princes Road when she vanished. A post mortem examination has confirmed the identity of the body, which was found close to West Lane, near the village of Danby, which lies off the A171 between Teesside and Whitby.

A murder investigation has now been jointly launched by North Yorkshire and Cleveland Police.

At the weekend, a team of forty officers began the task of sifting through forensic evidence and the information already gathered on Vicky's last movements.

Although a cause of death has yet to be established, police say there is no clear evidence to link her murder with that of Kellie Mallinson, another Middlesbrough prostitute, who was asphyxiated in early September. A man has already been charged with her murder.

Detective Sergeant Brian Dunn, who is leading the inquiry, said: "There are no similarities between this case and Kellie Mallinson's death."

But he added: "Kellie Mallinson is part of the investigation. I will be liaising with the senior officer in charge of the case to rule out any link."

Vicky's murder marks the third violent attack on a prostitute in the area in the past two months.

At around the same time that she disappeared, another woman was raped. Her attacker has not been traced.

Det Sgt Dunn said that while everyone in the area should be wary of the risk of being attacked, he did not consider that prostitutes were being singled out. "There is nothing to suggest that anyone has been targeted, and everyone should take extreme care," he said.

Exactly what happened to Vicky, from the Newport area of Middlesbrough, between her disappearance in the early hours of September 24 and the discovery of her body at 6am on Friday, remains a mystery.

The fair-haired young woman, who was a frequent visitor to the town centre, was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, light grey trousers and white trainers. She was 5ft 3in tall, and spoke with a local accent.

Police are appealing for anyone, including former clients, who can help them piece together the events leading to her death, to come forward.

They are asked to ring the murder incident room on (01642) 301 283 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111