Detectives investigating the disappearance of Dudley teenager Natalie Putt have being searching Ellowes Hall Woodland, in the Lower Gornal, in Dudley
Police are scouring woodlands in the hunt for a teenage mother who went missing 14 years ago after Britain’s Got Talent choir yielded fresh leads.
Natalie Putt was 17 when she left her home in the Lower Gornal area of Dudley, West Midlands, to go to a local shop in September 2003.
She was never seen again and left behind her baby son, Rhys, who was just 11 weeks old.
Acting on new information in June about Miss Putt, who disappeared in 2003, West Midlands Police said it had launched a murder inquiry.
Officers, including an underwater unit, are conducting searches at woodland in Ellowes Hall Wood, Lower Gornal.
Natalie’s sister, Rebecca Coggins, from Nottingham, said: ‘We have been made aware that the police will be doing more searches.
‘We can’t really say anything at the moment but at this time we are remaining positive.
‘We are hoping that this time the police will finally find something that will lead us to the truth.’
After launching a murder inquiry in June, police initially exhumed several graves in a cemetery half a mile from her home.
Police said ‘the intelligence picture has changed significantly since then.’
Officers, including an underwater unit, are conducting searches at woodland in Ellowes Hall Wood, Lower Gornal
Police are searching woodlands in the hunt for Natalie who went missing 14 years ago
Detectives started their search Ellowes Hall Wood in Lower Gornal today after ‘further credible information’ was received
West Midlands Police said they have received ‘credible information’ which has led them to the wood
Natalie disappeared from her home 14 years ago and officers are treating the case as a murder inquiry
Detective Superintendent Tom Chisholm, Head of Homicide at West Midlands Police said: ‘This area was searched when Natalie went missing in August 2003 as part of the then missing person inquiry, but the intelligence picture has changed significantly since then.
‘The information that we have received is corroborated by separate sources and is completely new information that was not previously known to us prior to June 2017.
‘As such it is considered essential to the investigation that this information is thoroughly followed up in the search for Natalie’s remains.’
Natalie’s family have been fully updated with the latest developments and are being supported by specialist officers.
A detailed search is being conducted this morning, which includes the use of an underwater search unit
A police search, using specialist officers and techniques, is being carried out today
Police are this morning searching a pond in woodland off Foxlands Drive in Dudley
Police are carrying out a detailed search today using specialist officers in the hunt for the body of Natalie Putt
Police are scouring Ellowes Hall Wood, in Dudley, in the hunt for the missing teenage mother
Detectives are hunting for the body of missing Dudley teenager Natalie Putt, who disappeared 14 years ago
DS Chisholm added: ‘I am convinced that there are people who still live in the area who hold the key to solving the disappearance of Natalie, I would urge those people to come forward.
‘There are people who need to be mindful that there is an absolute determination from the police to find the answers concerning her disappearance.
‘Over the years the person who is responsible for Natalie’s death will have confided in someone, I would urge that confidante to come forward.’
Miss Putt had been for a night out with a friend the day before she went missing. She returned home around 9am and stayed until noon before heading out on a shopping errand.
Following that officers searched land near to her home, including underwater searches of rivers and lakes.
At the time there were unconfirmed sightings of her in Cradley Heath and Coseley, in the West Midlands, while officers checked hostels, hospitals and across her wider friendship circle to try and find her. She did not take her mobile phone or any possessions.
Natalie Putt appeared on Britain’s Got Talent in June during the Missing People Choir’s performance – which may have helped sparked interest in her again
Miss Putt was 17 when she left her home in the Lower Gornal area of Dudley, West Midlands, to go to a local shop in September 2003
Miss Putt, who would have been 31, featured in appeals on BBC’s Crimewatch which to reported sightings across the country from Bournemouth to Scotland.
An 18-year-old local man was arrested in March 2004 in connection with Natalie’s disappearance, but was later released without charge.
Officers have said from the day she went missing her bank account remained untouched.
They said the last communication she made was a voicemail on the day suggesting she was planning to visit friends in Tamworth.
A Missing People appeal described how she usually wore a pendant necklace with the words ‘someone special’ engraved on it. She was last seen wearing a white hooded top.
In 2013 officers also scoured farmland in Wombourne, South Staffordshire, following a ‘flashback’ tip-off from a member of the public who recalled seeing a man digging near stables where Miss Putt is understood to have kept horses.
But West Midlands Police said nothing significant had been found in those searches.
The latest search comes four months after officers exhumed graves at Ruiton Cemetery (pictured) in search of Natalie’s body
Detectives launched a murder inquiry in June and exhumed graves in the search for Miss Putt