Police confirm that body is missing Natasha

Last updated at 15:39 13 August 2007


Police have confirmed that the body they found in undergrowth near a railway line is missing teenager Natasha Coombs.



The 17-year-old, of Dovercourt, Essex, vanished following a night out with friends in Ipswich on July 27.

A body was found near to Manningtree railway station, Essex, on Friday night and police today said it was the missing clerical assistant.

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natasha coombs

Natasha's father Gary, an insurance company manager, had told last week of the "unimaginable pain" he and his wife Joanne were suffering as they waited for news of their only daughter.

Natasha Coombs parents

"The house is so empty without her. It's unbearable," he said.



He and his wife Joanne had made an emotional appeal on the 12th day of her disappearance.

At the same time police released images from a CCTV camera at Ipswich station where Natasha was seen checking train times.

Mr Coombs said he had texted his daughter to ask if she wanted to be picked up from Dovercourt train station. At 11.01pm she replied to say: "No, I've booked a taxi."

About 30 minutes earlier, Natasha had called her parents to say she was on her way home.

The next day Natasha's grandparents pledged their life savings in the search.

Police said earlier that Natasha is thought to have been killed when hit by a train.

The circumstances of her death are now being investigated by the coroner.

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