New appeal in Sara murder hunt

Finnish-born Sara was found murdered in a field just yards from her home in Earsdon, North Tyneside, on Friday, April 21, and was last seen leaving a Metro at Shiremoor just before midnight the previous evening.

Police say a substantial number of people in the area that night had come forward. But other potential witnesses seen near Shiremoor Metro Station on the night of Thursday, April 20, have not been traced. Detective Superintendent Steve Bolam, leading the investigation, urged people to come forward.

Officers want to trace three people who got off the last train to arrive at Shiremoor from Newcastle just before midnight on April 20. They are:

* A man, 28 to 30, 5ft 9ins, medium build, with a shaved head and wearing a bomber-style navy blue jacket and dark trousers.

* A man, 40 to 45, medium to heavy build, with short dark hair brushed back, wearing a brown leather bomber jacket.

* A man or woman with long black frizzy hair, wearing a black biker jacket with skulls on the back and a belt with silver buckles.

Three people who left a train at Shiremoor at about 11.20pm via Benton have also not been traced. They are:

* A man, early 20s, very tall, with a shaved head and large ears, wearing a blue shirt showing an aerial pattern of a city.

* A man, early 20s, with short hair with a step cut into it, wearing a dark blue zipped-up fleece, ill-fitting jeans and a Newcastle United woollen hat with a blue star.

* A man, 25 to 35, with short ginger hair brushed forward, wearing a white polo-type shirt.

Two young men seen play fighting near Shiremoor station have still not come forward.

One is 5ft 9ins, 19, medium build, wearing a light-coloured baseball cap, with the peak facing backwards and dark tracksuit bottoms. The other is 5ft 8ins, 17 to 18, with short dark hair.

Police are continuing to carry out DNA screening on North Tyneside. More than 1,000 samples have been taken and more than half eliminated from the inquiry.