Body Found In Forest Search For Missing Tow Law Runner

Jonny Manning

BBC News, North East and Cumbria

Body found in forest search for missing Tow Law runner — Jenny Hall’s body has been found in Teesdale after she went missing five days ago

Family handout Jenny Hall. She has long brown hair and is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a green coat and sitting on a sofa. — Jenny Hall’s body has been found in Teesdale after she went missing five days ago

A body has been found in a forest search for a runner who went missing five days ago, police said.

Jenny Hall, 23, was last seen leaving her home at Barracks Farm, Tow Law, County Durham, on Tuesday, just after 15:00 GMT.

Her red Ford Focus was found parked on the B6278 between Eggleston and Stanhope on Wednesday.

Durham Police said Ms Hall’s body had been found in a “very remote area of Teesdale” shortly after 09:30 GMT on Sunday.

Formal identification has yet to take place but Ms Hall’s family have been informed.

The force said it was not treating her death as suspicious and a file was being prepared for the coroner.

Four members of the search and rescue team searching in Hamsterley Forest. They are dressed in black waterproof clothing and carry sticks. They are surrounded by dense trees. The ground is covered in brown leaves. — The terrain in Hamsterley Forest has been described as muddy and boggy

Mountain rescue teams have been searching for Ms Hall since Tuesday.

Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team led the search alongside the police and by Friday had covered 60 miles (97km) of paths and tracks.

More than a dozen mountain rescue team members took part and on Saturday seven drones, 10 mountain rescue dogs and more than 60 volunteers took part.

Ms Hall was a keen long distance runner and was known to run through Hamsterley Forest, which is the largest in the county and spans 4,942 acres (2,000ha).

Earlier this week, rescue volunteer Peter Bell said the area was difficult to search.

“The biggest challenge is the area size itself and the terrain,” he said.

“The terrain is muddy and boggy.”

Durham Police thanked the mountain rescue teams which had been working alongside officers on the ground.

The force also thanked the public for their help in sharing their appeal.

Visitors to the forest had been asked to give officers space and to not to disturb the area while the search was ongoing.

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