Family find their daughter’s body dumped by stream
She went missing on way home from gig
THE family of a missing barmaid have found her body dumped by a stream.
They had formed a search party after Keeley Bunker, 20, vanished on her way home from a concert.
A 19- year- old man was being questioned by detectives last night on suspicion of murder.
Miss Bunker was last seen in the early hours of Thursday, less than a mile from her home in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
She had travelled with friends to see the British rapper Aitch at Birmingham’s 02 Institute.
Relatives made the grim discovery of her body after spending hours frantically scouring the streets, a close family source said.
The source, who asked not to be named, said the family started the search when a member of the public found Miss Bunker’s black handbag in Wigginton Park on Thursday afternoon. That evening they found her body by a stream that runs through the park.
‘It has torn the family apart,’ added the source. ‘Keeley had just gone on a night out, she was so excited about seeing Aitch and nobody thought they would never see her again.
‘The family had spent all day looking for her, and when it got dark, her uncle came round to my house asking if we had any torches for them to use to search the park. He looked absolutely broken.
‘They all went out to look for her and it was one of the family who actually found the body. It’s beyond heart-breaking and I don’t think they will ever get over this.’
Miss Bunker’s mother, Debbie Watkins, has told friends her daughter was last seen in the Leyfields area of Tamworth at 4.20am on Thursday.
She was wearing a light pink designer coat by Moncler, black joggers and white Puma trainers.
It is unclear how Miss Bunker, who had an older brother and younger sister, travelled back from Birmingham to Tamworth.
Mrs Watkins and her partner, Marc Esnor, had put out desperate pleas for help on social media on Thursday when they realised she was missing. The source added: ‘Keeley was such a lovely girl, everyone loved her and I just can’t believe she has gone.
‘I saw her on Wednesday night in McDonalds before she went out, she was laughing and seemed really happy. When she hadn’t come home on Thursday, her mum obviously raised the alarm.’
In a tragic last tweet, Miss Bunker posted a message on social media reading: ‘Only thing keeping me going is seeing Aitch on Wednesday, hopefully he’ll see me and we’ll get married xx.’
Miss Bunker’s cousin Sian Phillips said last night: ‘We are all broken.’
Her aunt Jodie Majer posted some pictures of herself with Miss Bunker on Facebook and wrote: ‘My beautiful niece who is more like my little sister!! I love you so much.’
A steadily-growing pile of floral tributes had been laid at Wigginton Park yesterday afternoon. One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘It looks as if her body was left in the stream next to some hedges. It’s really frightening that something like this can happen on your door step. This park is popular with families and children.’
Yesterday afternoon, police were still combing the area where Miss Bunker’s body was found.
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: ‘We were alerted to the discovery of a woman’s body in woodland near to Roman Way, Tamworth.
‘Whilst formal identification is yet to take place we now believe the woman to be Keeley Bunker.
‘Her death is unexplained at this time and a Home Office post-mortem is due to take place.
‘We have cordoned off three areas for forensic examination as work continues to understand the circumstances around the woman’s death.
‘We would politely request that people refrain from speculating as to the circumstances of the woman’s death as we continue to investigate.
‘We have increased the police presence in the area.’
Miss Bunker’s family were last night being supported by speciallytrained police officers.
‘It is really frightening’