DETECTIVES have issued a fresh appeal for information on the murder of a teenager whose body was found 22 years ago today.

Lindsay Jo Rimer, 13, was found in the Rochdale Canal on April 12, 1995, five months after she was last seen in Hebden Bridge. She had been strangled.

Last November, a 63-year-old man from Bradford was arrested on the suspicion of Lindsay's murder. He is on police bail while enquiries continue.

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Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson, of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET), is leading the investigation.

He said: "We have done a lot of publicity in the last few years to keep Lindsay's case in the minds of the public and media. We know there is someone out there, who has previously, or still lives locally to Hebden Bridge that will have the pieces of the puzzle to help solve this murder investigation.

"No family should have to live with over 20 years of not knowing what happened to their daughter. The pain and anguish felt by the Rimer family still runs as deep today as the day Lindsay's body was found and I want to get the family those answers and bring the person or people to justice for their actions.

"We are continuing to work with a forensic provider in Canada and that work is very much still ongoing and forms part of our continuing investigation.

"Over two decades have passed since Lindsay went missing and despite the passage of time publicity like this really does help. We want to keep the memory of Lindsay in people's minds and with each appeal, we hope that someone who hasn't yet felt able, will come forward with the 'golden nugget' we are waiting for.

"Each piece of new information is meticulously examined to determine its place within investigation."

He added: "Someone somewhere knows what happened to Lindsay. Anyone who knows anything about what happened to her owes it to her family to come forward. Help bring them answers , closure and justice for their teenage daughter whose life was so tragically cut short.

"I am appealing again, directly, to that person to come forward and help me crack the case. Twenty two years is a long time. People may have moved away from the area over that time, and may now live in other towns and cities - did you live in Hebden Bridge or the surrounding area in 1994? Were you socialising, working or living locally and did you not come forward before, because you were not sure of the significance of what you may have seen?

"People's allegiances may also have changed. Perhaps you harboured suspicions about someone back then, but didn't feel you could come forward. Or perhaps you saw something back on the night Lindsay disappeared in November 1994 whilst walking your dog, or looking out of a window, but didn’t think it was important.

"I would once again, urge anyone who has not yet felt they could come forward over the last two decades, but may now feel they can, to make that call. The information you have, not matter how small it may seem in isolation, could well be the piece of the jigsaw that finally helps us bring justice for Lindsay and her family.

"For over 22 years the family have had to live with the pain and the hurt of not knowing what happened to Lindsay as her killer continues to enjoy their freedom.

"Unfortunately, she was never able to grow up and live a full and happy life. Her family continue to feel the void in her absence, and still desperately want and deserve answers about what happened.

"If you have any information, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, make that call. You could hold the key to unlock the answers we and the Rimer family are so desperate for."

A police timeline of Lindsay's last known movements shows she left her home on Cambridge Street, Hebden Bridge, on November 7, 1994, to go to the shops. She paused briefly at the Trades Club on Holme Street where she met her mum before moving on to Crown Street.

On Crown Street she went into the Spar shop and CCTV from the store (released by police in November 2014) showed her buying cornflakes at 10.22pm. It is not known what happened to her after that.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call detectives directly on 01924 821441.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously and in confidence on 0800 555111. Information can also be passed anonymously online to Crimestoppers via https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online.

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