Damien Nettles' disappearance: Two more arrests

http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-england-hampshire-15537157

Version 0 of 1.

Two further people have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of an Isle of Wight teenager 15 years ago.

Damien Nettles was last seen after a night out in West Cowes on 2 November 1996, when he was aged 16.

In May, police arrested and bailed five men on suspicion of murder following new information and then began searching marshland near Newport.

Officers have now arrested a man and woman and begun searching an address in Marsh Road, Gurnard, Cowes.

The 35-year-old woman and 44-year-old man, both from Cowes, have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and are being questioned.

Police said they were linked to the property which is being searched.

'Cautious expectations'

The other five suspects have been bailed again, until 1 February.

Damien had lived with his family in Woodvale Road, Gurnard, but they have since moved to Texas in the US.

The last confirmed sighting was on CCTV at Yorkie's fish and chip shop in Cowes High Street at about 23:45 GMT.

He has not been seen since despite his family keeping the disappearance in the spotlight over the years.

Det Ch Insp David Powell said: "Damien's body has not been located or identified at the moment and we are cautious in our expectations for this search.

"We are always mindful that there have been many false and malicious allegations about whereabouts of Damien over the past 15 years.

"Although murder is a prominent line of inquiry at this time, detectives retain an open mind about exactly what happened."

Specialist teams searching for his body used rafts to comb marsh land and water at Dodnor Nature Reserve, near Newport, in May after police received new information.

The searches were unsuccessful.