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‘Now’s the time to talk over murdered schoolgirl’


Family handout/West Yorkshire Police A picture of Lindsay Rimer as a child. She is sat down smiling with her brown hair tied back, wearing a blue jumper.Family handout/West Yorkshire Police

Lindsay was described by her family as an “intelligent and cautious girl” who would not go off with a stranger

A fresh appeal has been made to find the killer of a schoolgirl three decades on from the day she vanished.

Lindsay Rimer, 13, left her home in Hebden Bridge on November 7, 1994, to buy cornflakes from a nearby shop, but never returned.

Her body was found five months later weighted down with a stone in the Rochdale Canal, about a mile from the town centre.

Det Ch Insp James Entwistle of West Yorkshire Police said officers were “no closer to the truth” and urged people: “Now’s the time to talk to us.”

Alex Moss/BBC News A picture of Det Ch Insp James Entwistle who is wearing a dark gre coloured suit and tie and is stood next to a river.Alex Moss/BBC News

Det Ch Insp James Entwistle said police hadn’t given up on getting justice for Lindsay, whose body was found in the Rochdale Canal

Det Ch Insp Entwistle said he and his team of officers would be in Hebden Bridge throughout Thursday handing out leaflets and seeking information.

“It’s 30 years to the day that this happened,” he said.

“There has been an immense police inquiry around it and we’re still no closer to the truth about.”

Lindsay left her home in Cambridge Street at about 22:00 BST before calling in to see her mother at the Trades Club.

She was captured on CCTV 20 minutes later as she bought cornflakes from the Spar on Crown Street.

PA Media A close-up passport style photo of Lindsay Rimer with tied up curly hair, believed to have been taken when she was around 13 years old.PA Media

Lindsay Rimer disappeared after buying breakfast cereal from a shop near to where she lived

She was spotted moments later by two bus passengers as she leant against a wall near to the town’s Memorial Garden.

That was the last confirmed sighting of her alive. Two canal workers found her body five months later.

The search for the schoolgirl was one of the largest carried out by West Yorkshire Police and despite extensive enquiries, her killed remains unknown.

Lindsay’s family said the anguish of not getting justice for Lindsay was “like living a life sentence”.

Alex Moss/BBC News A picture of Juliet Rimer with long, curly, brown hair and wearing a black top and grey cardigan. She is sat on a sofa next to a bookshelf alongside Kate Rimer, who has long, brown hair and is wearing jeans and a blue jumper.Alex Moss/BBC News

Juliet Rimer (left) and Kate Rimer say getting justice would give them family some peace

Her sister Kate Rimer added: “If you know something you need to come forward because you have a moral duty to end this. Not just for Lindsay and us as a family, but for the wider community of Hebden Bridge who have lived with this.”

Det Ch Insp Entwistle said his appeal was threefold.

“Firstly, do you have suspicions about someone? Were you maybe a prison officer, a probation officer, a teacher who’s always wondered ‘what about that person?’

“Secondly, were you in Hebden Bridge at the time? Have you always wondered about coming forward? Loyalties change over 30 years.

“And thirdly, were you involved? Do you have this on your conscience? Maybe you weren’t responsible for the murder, but you know exactly what happened.”

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