River Mersey woman remains a mystery six months on

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Mystery still surrounds the identity of a woman six months after her body was found in the River Mersey.

Police appear to be no closer to identifying the slightly built woman, wearing a lime-green Primark crop-top and New Look jeans.

A member of the public first alerted emergency services to the discovery, at around 11.10am on Thursday, March 21.

The body had been spotted in a stretch of the River Mersey close to Chorlton Water Park in south Manchester.

The woman, 156cm in height, with a slim build and medium length dark brown hair, was recovered from the water – but months on few details about her are known.

No-one has come forward to identify her or match a missing person inquiry despite police appeals, suggesting she may be a foreign national.

Police say despite extensive investigative work including specialist examinations, DNA testing, and reviews of missing persons records, her identity remains unknown.

Wearing size 8, New Look branded Jenna jeans and green non-slip socks, she also did not have any identifiable items in her pockets, or visible jewellery.

Due to the length of time she had been in the water before discovery, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said in April that her approximate age, ethnicity, and cause of death had not yet been established.

This week, GMP said it had no further update to make public on those details and was still keeping an “open mind” as to her cause of death.

In April, Detective Inspector Louise Edwards, from GMP’s Major Investigations Team, said: “We are determined to reunite this woman with her family and friends and establish the cause of her death.

“I would urge anyone with information to please come forward.”

Anyone with any information can contact police on 101, via gmp.police.uk, or by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. You can also visit their site at crimestoppers-uk.org. The log number to be quoted is 1191 of 21/03/24