IT is now more than a month since 19-year-old Jenny Nicholl was last seen by her parents at her family home in Richmond, North Yorkshire.

Despite hundreds of man hours of police work and an emotional appeal for information from her distraught parents, the whereabouts of Miss Nicholl are still not known.

Residents of Richmond say they are worried and alarmed that a young woman could disappear from the town.

The mayor, Councillor Stuart Parsons, last night summed up what many people are feeling.

He said: "People are totally baffled. There are rumours flying around and people don't understand what's happened, where she's gone and why.

"This is no criticism of the police, but is seems very strange that someone can apparently disappear off the face of the earth."

Coun Parsons added: "Everybody I have spoken to about Jenny said she was a happy person who enjoyed life.

"People want a happy outcome, but at the same time they are fearing the worst."

Yesterday, residents told The Northern Echo that Miss Nicholl and two friends went camping on nearby Downholme Moor only days before she disappeared.

Further links to the moor have emerged.

At the weekend, a man was found in a makeshift den on the Ministry of Defence land.

Sources say the incident was connected to the disappearance, but police refuse to say how.

Last week, a 48-year-old man was arrested by detectives for an alleged attempt to pervert the course of justice.

He has since been released on bail.

Again, police refuse to say what connection his arrest has to the investigation.

North Yorkshire Police have set up a dedicated team to find the teenager, but detectives have remained unusually tight-lipped on how the inquiry is progressing.

Miss Nicholl was last seen by her parents on Thursday, June 30.

She was reported missing when she failed to turn up at the Co-op, in Richmond - where she worked as a shop assistant - the following Monday. Two days later, the disappearance was made public.

Miss Nicholl is well-known in Richmond and, before her disappearance, was a regular in several town centre pubs.

Friends who attended St Francis of Xavier School with Miss Nicholl have described her as a popular, funny and friendly girl.

Officers immediately admitted they were concerned because it was out of character for the teenager to disappear without word.

Detectives added there was no known reason why Miss Nicholl would leave town.

Her car, a white Rover 214i, was found in the car park of the Holly Hill Inn, on the outskirts of Richmond.

Police said the teenager loved the countryside and could have used the car park as a base for walks in the surrounding woods and fields.

So far extensive searches and house-to-house inquiries have drawn a blank.