POLICE divers are searching a stretch of canal in Warwickshire as officers use ‘new information’ to find Nicola Payne.
Nicola went missing in 1991, aged 18.
Using sonar equipment, a diving team from Specialist Group International are examining the Oxford Canal bed close to the Armada boat yard at Harborough Parva near Rugby.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “We are acting on new information and searching an area of canal between Coventry and Rugby as part of our efforts to find Coventry mum Nicola Payne.
“We are working closely with a specialist underwater search team to find Nicola and help bring closure to her family.”
Det Insp Justin Mason-Spanner from the homicide team, said: “We are as committed as ever to finding Nicola’s remains, allowing her family to lay her to rest and to achieving justice for her family and the community.
“We recently received new information which has led to this search that will last a few days. Nicola’s family has been kept fully informed.
“We still believe there maybe people out there who hold information about what happened in 1991 and I urge anyone who has not previously contacted us with information to contact us. It could make all the difference and could finally bring Nicola’s family the closure they deserve.”
In January 2018, the reward for any information leading to finding Nicola was raised to £100,000 by an anonymous donor.
At the time of her disappearance, mother-of-one Nicola was walking across waste ground near her parent’s home in Wood End, Coventry.
She was returning to her parents John and Marilyn from her boyfriend’s house.
Her route was a familiar journey across a patch of wasteland, known locally as ‘Black Pad’, that should have taken just five minutes.
No trace of Nicola has ever been found.
In 2015, two men standing trial for Nicola’s murder at Birmingham Crown Court were both acquitted of the crime.
West Midlands police have since promised to continue their investigation, in the face of criticism of the force’s retention of evidence.
Anyone with information about Nicola’s disappearance should contact the homicide team on 101 or via Live Chat at www.west-midlands.police.uk between 8am and midnight, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
