Lantern tribute to murdered Sian

A mural painted in Swindon in memory of Sian O'Callaghan
12 April 2012

Thousands of people have gathered to remember murdered PA Sian O'Callaghan at a lantern vigil on the day police found human remains at a field they are searching in Gloucestershire.

Crowds gathered at the Polo Ground in the Old Town area of Swindon, the town where Sian lived until she died last week.

Hundred of Chinese lanterns and balloons were launched into the night sky and a two minute silence was held at 8pm as part of the Lighting Up The Sky for Sian gathering. The event had been arranged when 22-year-old Sian was still officially missing, before her body was found on Thursday.

A message posted on the Lighting Up The Sky for Sian Facebook page read: "In light of the recent tragic news of the discovery of a body Police believe to be Sian's, we see it fit to change the purpose of this gathering."

Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher said the team from Wiltshire Police had been told the remains they found were those of a woman abducted in Swindon between 2003 and 2005. They have yet to be formally identified.

He also revealed that an examination of 22-year-old Sian's body revealed she had not been sexually assaulted. Sian's body was formally identified by her family on Friday night.

Supt Fulcher, speaking at a press conference in Swindon, said: "This morning officers have found remains which we believe to be human at the site at Eastleach."

He also said that while the 47-year-old man being held in connection with the two murder investigations had told them when a victim was abducted, he gave no indication of an exact time and date, or her identity.

"He indicated he killed a young woman between 2003 and 2005. He could not be specific about the date but he said she had been taken from the Swindon area."

News that the remains of a second person had been found came hours after police were granted a further extension by magistrates in Swindon to hold the man being questioned.

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