A body has been found in a forest search after a runner went missing five days ago, Durham Police have said.
Jenny Hall, 23, was last seen leaving her home at Barracks Farm, Tow Law, County Durham, just after 3pm on Tuesday.
She was last seen wearing a blue John Deere hoodie and dark jogging bottoms and her family raised the alarm at 9pm that night.
Her red Ford Focus was found parked on the B6278 road between Eggleston and Stanhope on Wednesday.
The force said the body was found in a “very remote area” in Teesdale on Sunday morning.
Formal identification has yet to take place, but the police said there were not thought to be any suspicious circumstances. A file will be prepared for the coroner.
Hall’s family have been notified and are being supported by specialist officers, with the force adding they asked for privacy in this “devastating time”.
A major search operation took place including specialist drones alongside search and mountain rescue teams after Hall went missing on Tuesday.
Chief inspector Dean Haythornthwaite said police had become “increasingly concerned” for Hall since she was reported missing and had “been exploring all lines of enquiry, including dozens from members of the public”.
Thought to be a keen long-distance runner, Hall was known to run through Hamsterley Forest, the largest in the county which spans 4,942 acres.
As the search continued on Friday, police followed Hall’s usual running trail between Eggleston and Hamsterley.
“We are focusing our search on areas we know Jenny likes to run through and we are determined to do everything we can to find her,” he added.
Officers searched over 100 miles worth of track in the Teesdale area, with digital intelligence officers carrying out extensive inquiries into her mobile phone, smart watch and running apps.
Police said none had “yielded any results unfortunately”.
On Saturday, seven drones, 10 mountain rescue dogs and more than 60 volunteers took part in the search.
Durham Constabulary thanked expert mountain rescue teams for working “intensively” alongside officers on the ground to find the body, including Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team, Penrith Mountain Rescue Team, Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team and more.
