WHEN happy-go-lucky Jenny Nicholl leaves her home on Thursday, June 30, carrying a dark grey rucksack and does not return, it is of no great concern to her family.

The pretty party girl would often go out camping with friends after drinking in and around her home town of Richmond, North Yorkshire.

Only three days earlier, the popular 19-year-old - who liked to wear her hair tied back - had withdrawn cash from her local NatWest bank.

But alarm bells begin to ring on Monday, July 4, when Jenny fails to turn up for work at her local Co-op shop.

And when her white Rover is found later that day, in the car park of the town's Holly Hill Inn, Jenny is reported missing.

After her disappearance is made public, police step up their investigation. An incident room is set up at Richmond police station involving 20 officers.

That weekend, they mingle with drinkers in Richmond pubs to try to build up a picture of the friendly, independent teenager or to track down anyone who has seen her.

Then, on Sunday, there is a development. Suddenly, police widen their search to Scotland and the Lake District after a tip-off.

Officers remain tight-lipped about their inquiries but we now know that police switched their search, after text messages had been sent from her mobile phone, claiming she was safe.

However, detectives believe those messages were, in fact, sent by her killer - in a bid to throw them off the scent.

Police establish that the two text messages - one to friends and the other to her father, Brian - had been sent from Carlisle and five days later from Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders.

Officers make extensive inquiries in those areas, then scour woodland and countryside around Richmond. They carry out house-to-house inquiries.

Meanwhile, Jenny's distraught parents issue an appeal through The Northern Echo for their daughter to come home, and on Friday, July 15, further house-to-house inquiries are conducted in the Holly Hill area where her car is found.

A week later, Jenny's father urges his daughter's friends to come forward with information.

Over the next few days, there are a number of twists and turns in this curious case but, again, police keep a tight lid on their operations.

Then, on Tuesday, July 26, there is a strange development. A local man is arrested in connection with the case, for an alleged attempt to pervert the course of justice. He is later released.

On that weekend, detectives appeal for help at a Darlington Festival music event in the town's market place. It is the one gig that Jenny would surely not want to miss.

The next day, the hunt switches dramatically to moorland on the outskirts of Richmond.

A man is found among the bracken in a makeshift den and sources say there is a connection to the teenager's disappearance. Police make no comment.

In August, The Northern Echo learns that Jenny and two friends had gone camping on Downholme Moor several days before she disappeared.

Police then make a further appeal for information at the Richmond Live music event, but draw another blank.

The following week, police return to Downholme Moor to look for clues but on Friday, August 19, detectives admit for the first time that Jenny may not be found alive.

Another agonising month goes by with no news of their daughter, but Thursday, October 6, is a particularly sad day for Jenny's parents. It is her 20th birthday.

However, her mother and father put on a brave face to unfurl two 8ft banners which read "Happy Birthday, Jenny". One banner is sited near the Co-op where Jenny worked as an assistant, the other is opposite the Georgian Theatre Royal.

Radio stations also broadcast birthday greetings.

In an emotional appeal, her mother, Ann, says: "The message to Jenny is that we wish her a happy birthday wherever she is, that she is not in trouble of any sort, that we love and miss her and that we want her to call us right now. Jenny - just ring."

Almost two weeks later, there is yet another dramatic development. Police raid a flat in a small set of apartments in Culloden View, Waterloo, just behind the town's Market Place.

The ground floor flat had been occupied by a man who moved out two weeks earlier. Detectives take the place apart and rumours abound that bloodstains have been found.

But are those stains human or from a pet, such as a dog, cat or rabbit?

The flat is cordoned off and for five days police are at the scene, carrying out an inch-by-inch search of the premises. A number of items are taken away to be examined by forensic experts.

It is exactly four months to the day that Jenny's parents reported her missing and sadly, today, the couple are no nearer to the truth.