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| Tia Sharp's body only found when police noticed smell of decomposition | Tia Sharp's body only found when police noticed smell of decomposition |
| (4 months later) | |
| Police twice unsuccessfully searched the loft where Tia Sharp's body was hidden but only discovered her on the third attempt. | Police twice unsuccessfully searched the loft where Tia Sharp's body was hidden but only discovered her on the third attempt. |
| Tia's body was found wrapped in a sheet and layers of plastic in the loft of her grandmother's home on 10 August last year, a week after she went missing. | Tia's body was found wrapped in a sheet and layers of plastic in the loft of her grandmother's home on 10 August last year, a week after she went missing. |
| It was only when detectives noticed a smell of decomposition upstairs in Christine Bicknell's house that Tia was finally found. | It was only when detectives noticed a smell of decomposition upstairs in Christine Bicknell's house that Tia was finally found. |
| A police constable first went into the loft on 4 August, climbing up on a stool balanced on a chair. | A police constable first went into the loft on 4 August, climbing up on a stool balanced on a chair. |
| He said: "I was searching for a missing girl and from what I could see the loft seemed very clear. I thought: 'She is not hiding in here.'" | He said: "I was searching for a missing girl and from what I could see the loft seemed very clear. I thought: 'She is not hiding in here.'" |
| The following day a specialist team came in; one officer said he would have recognised the smell of a decomposing body if it had been apparent. | The following day a specialist team came in; one officer said he would have recognised the smell of a decomposing body if it had been apparent. |
| His colleague said he took about 25 minutes to search the loft, including moving black bags around that the team believed were too light to contain anything significant. | His colleague said he took about 25 minutes to search the loft, including moving black bags around that the team believed were too light to contain anything significant. |
| Later, a search dog was brought to the house in New Addington, south London, and indicated that there was something above one of the bedrooms, but the animal was too large to take into the loft. | Later, a search dog was brought to the house in New Addington, south London, and indicated that there was something above one of the bedrooms, but the animal was too large to take into the loft. |
| On 10 August a detective noticed the smell of decomposition in the house, which Bicknell mistakenly thought was cat faeces. | On 10 August a detective noticed the smell of decomposition in the house, which Bicknell mistakenly thought was cat faeces. |
| Another dog also indicated that something might be in the loft of the house and Tia's body was then found. | Another dog also indicated that something might be in the loft of the house and Tia's body was then found. |
| Detective Constable Daniel Chatfield, who found Tia's body as he and a crime scene manager searched the loft, said: "The loft was extremely confined, it was very hot and quite chaotic, so there were a lot of boxes and bags around the hatch entrances which needed to be moved in order to search further into the loft. | Detective Constable Daniel Chatfield, who found Tia's body as he and a crime scene manager searched the loft, said: "The loft was extremely confined, it was very hot and quite chaotic, so there were a lot of boxes and bags around the hatch entrances which needed to be moved in order to search further into the loft. |
| "After about 10 minutes my colleague Mr Langley had alerted me to what he believed to be the body of Tia." | "After about 10 minutes my colleague Mr Langley had alerted me to what he believed to be the body of Tia." |
| In the wake of Tia's death, Scotland Yard apologised to her family that it had taken so long to find her. | In the wake of Tia's death, Scotland Yard apologised to her family that it had taken so long to find her. |
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