The mother of missing teenager Luke Durbin has confirmed human remains discovered in a Sudbury river last week are not her son’s.
Police launched a murder inquiry following the discovery of bones inside two black bins bags pulled from the River Stour in Sudbury at about 4.35pm last Thursday.
A Home Office postmortem examination carried out on Sunday proved inconclusive – with further forensic tests required to establish any form of identification, or cause of death.
Following the discovery, Nicki Durbin, mother of Luke, who went missing after a night out in Ipswich in 2006, has said the remains found are not his.
Posting in the Find Luke Facebook group last night, she said: “My family were contacted by the major investigation team earlier this evening, it was confirmed that the remains found in Sudbury were not Luke’s.
“There is of course a sense of immediate relief as some thread of hope is restored. However, the brutal reality is that this is still someone’s loved one and my beautiful, lost boy is still out there somewhere.
“As always, thank you to each and everyone of you for your kind messages.
“I’d also like to thank the major investigation team for keeping me updated throughout the last week.”
The 19-year-old from Hollesley disappeared in the early hours of Friday, May 12, 2006 after a night out with friends at popular Ipswich nightclub Zest.
Meanwhile, the mother of another high-profile missing person in Suffolk – Corrie McKeague – has also confirmed the remains are not her son’s.
Nicola Urquhart said yesterday that the bones discovered in the River Stour are not Corrie’s after being notified by Suffolk police.
The airman, from Fife in Scotland, who was based at RAF Honington, was last seen on CCTV entering a bin loading area behind shops following a night out in Bury St Edmunds on September 24, 2016.
Depsite a wide-reaching investigation, which included two searches of a landfill site in Milton, Cambridgeshire, he has never been found.
MORE: Missing Or Murdered: Luke Durbin’s story to feature on Channel 5Police revealed yesterday that more than 140 witnesses have been spoken to since the investigation into the discovery of the bones began.
Detective Chief Inspector Mike Brown, senior investigating officer, said: “Detailed forensic investigations on the remains is continuing and, although progress is being made every day, as we have said previously, this will be a long and painstaking process to complete, as we strive to establish the identity of the victim.
“Such a complex investigation is a real team effort and I offer my extreme gratitude for all the expertise, knowledge and support we have received from various specialist and operational resources.
“Of course, part of that team effort is the support and understanding from the Sudbury community – we remain extremely appreciative of the patience they have shown us while a large police presence remains in the vicinity of the River Stour and whilst we conduct enquiries elsewhere in the town.”
Detectives would like to hear from anyone who may have driven their vehicle in the vicinity of The Croft between Monday, August 24 and Thursday, August 27 and has a dash cam fitted, to review the footage to see if they captured anything of significance.
Anyone with information about this discovery is asked to contact the Major Investigation Team, either via the online portal or by calling 101.
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