Wolverhampton canal woman identified after police search

Officers had made numerous appeals for information and released an artist's impression of the woman, whose body was discovered in the Broad Street canal basin on July 24.

Today it was revealed that the woman was a widow who lived in Merridale and had children living in Hemel Hempstead, after relatives came forward.

Despite the identification police officers were today down at the waterside of the Old Main Lane canal hunting for more information about the woman.

A specialist search team waded through a stretch on the canal near to Wednesfield Road.

A six-strong team wearing special dry suits combed the area for any items belonging to the woman, or clues which may have suggested what happened before her death.

The team used an aquascope to look through the murky water and analyse the bed of the canal in the three-hour search.

The operational support unit were also looking for anything out of the ordinary and checking through bushes and hedges down each side of the canal by where the woman's body was found.

Detective Sergeant Carl Russell, from West Midland Police's Force CID, thanked the public for help given in the two-week search to identify the woman.

He said: "We would like to thank the media and the public for their overwhelming support in helping us to try to identify this lady.

We are pleased that we have finally been able to identify her and will be passing our findings onto the coroner."

Police search the canal for clues as to the woman's identity this morning:

Police said the woman's death was not being treated as suspicious.

She had been discovered by passers-by who were walking by the canal at 5.45am on July 24.

During the bid to identify her an artist impression of the woman, who was wearing a wedding and engagement ring when she died, was released by police.

Officers viewed CCTV and spoke to a number of people who were in the area at the time as part of their inquiries.

She was identified after her children, who live in Hemel Hempstead, alerted a cousin in Wolverhampton after they became concerned that they were unable to contact their mother.

The worried family member contacted the police.

Police said a formal identification will take place in due course.