UEA body mystery

The corpse was found by an angler at the University of East Anglia Broad on the morning of Thursday 1 July, but Norfolk Police have yet to identify the woman. A shoe that matches the woman’s size was found near to a jetty at the lake on Friday night and is currently being forensically examined.

On Monday, officers said there was no evidence to suggest the woman had been the victim of violence, or that a third party was involved, however a post mortem examination was unable to confirm the cause of death.

Divers from Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service began searching the UEA Broad at lunchtime yesterday in a bid to find items which may have belonged to the woman, but as of 5.35pm, a police statement said the operation had provided “no further clues”. 

It comes a day after police released an image of the woman’s clothing – a black dress featuring a large cream and peach rose pattern – in the hope it may encourage anyone with information to come forward.

A statement from UEA, released last week, said: “As far as we are able to we have accounted for staff, students and visitors on summer schools and conferences, and we have not been made aware of anybody reported missing.

“Swimming is strictly prohibited in the Broad, there are 18 warning signs positioned around it at regular intervals, along with 11 life belts which are checked every two weeks. The area around the UEA Broad is also patrolled regularly by estates and security staff.”  

Speaking at the scene yesterday evening, Detective Inspector Richard Graveling said the woman’s identity and how she came to be in the lake remained a mystery. “We know very little about this woman and this is why we are concentrating our efforts on these searches…in the hope of finding some kind of personal item which will reveal her identity,” he said.

chris.parr@tsleducation.com