Road searched for woman's body
Murder squad detectives are searching for the body of a mother of three believed dumped along a rural stretch of road in North Yorkshire.
Officers have now traced a suspect white camper van spotted driving along the A168/A19 near Thirsk at the time 25-year-old Rania Alayed went missing.
But detectives do not yet know exactly where the van stopped and the stretch of road near Thirsk runs for 19 miles with numerous laybys.
Ms Alayed's body is still missing but two men have been charged with her murder.
Officers want the public's help in trying to pin down exactly where the camper van was seen as they continued searching along the A-road.
Teams of officers from Greater Manchester Police and North Yorkshire Police carried out a line search in a northbound layby between the A1 and Thirsk and searches will continue on this stretch of road for a number of days or weeks.
Ms Alayed was reported missing from her home in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, on July 2, having been last seen in public on the evening of June 7.
She had previously lived in Norton, Stockton-On-Tees, and moved to Manchester in January.
Her disappearance was described by police as "extremely out of character".
It is thought she was taken in a white camper van in the early hours of June 8 to the Thirsk area of North Yorkshire, where her body was disposed of.
As part of the investigation, detectives established that a white camper van travelled from Manchester to the A19 around the time of her disappearance.
It is believed the vehicle stopped at a layby by the side of the A19 in the early hours of Saturday 8 June 2013, but the exact location is still not known.
Police have sent letters to the keepers of 350 vehicles travelling on the A19 or A168 between the junctions with the A172 and A1(M) between the hours of 3am and 5am on Saturday 8 June 2013.
The letter asks the driver, or anyone travelling in the vehicle, to contact the investigation team if they have any information concerning the white camper van.
Detectives believe it was parked in a lay-by on the northbound carriageway during this time.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating how GMP dealt with previous contact with Ms Alayed, who reported being a victim of domestic violence.
Ahmed Khatib, 33, of Knutsford Road in Gorton, Manchester is charged with murder and Muhanned Mahmood Al Khatib, 38, of Arthur Millwood Court, Salford, has been charged with murder and perverting the course of justice.