Police revisiting a cold-case investigation into a woman’s death over 40 years ago have taken the unusual step of calling on help from amateur genealogists.

The unidentified woman’s decomposed body was found in undergrowth near Sutton Bank, near Thirsk in North Yorkshire, in 1981 following an anonymous phone call. Detectives believe that she probably died in 1979.

Although there are theories that foul play was involved, there has never been enough evidence to offcially categorise it as homicide.

Adam Harland, head of North Yorkshire Police’s Cold Case Review Team, said, “Despite the passage of time, nobody deserves to be simply forgotten about – this was someone’s mother. And it’s likely that she had friends who cared about her.”

The police are hoping to hear from family historians who have a female relation who disappears from the records between 1979 and 1981. They will then try to identify the dead woman using commercial DNA testing services.

Forensic evidence shows that the woman was probably born between 1935 and 1940. She had given birth to two or three children. She was white with brown hair, 5 foot 4 inches tall and her shoes were size 4. She had several distinguishing features, including a mild upper spine malformation that could have made her hold her head at an unusual angle. She also had several missing teeth and other evidence of a lifestyle that involved regular smoking and drinking.

Harland added, “Police forces have used similar techniques for cold-case investigations in the past, and while they may seem unconventional, they can provide the missing piece to the jigsaw. I’d rather 200 names were put to us and 199 were wrong than nothing to work from at all. That one piece of information could be all we need to solve a decades-old mystery.”

If you have information that you think might help the police investigation, please email a summary to coldcasereviewunit@northyorkshire.police.uk. A Cold Case Review Team member will record the information, and may contact you to discuss it further.