Missing midwife: body found
THE search for midwife Samantha Eastwood became a murder inquiry last night after her body was found in remote countryside seven miles from her home.
Miss Eastwood, 28, had been missing for eight days after finishing her night shift at the Royal Stoke University Hospital last Friday.
Police made the grim discovery near a quarry in an area known as Staffordshire Moorlands. Although the body is yet to be formally identified, Staffordshire Police said they had sent specialist officers to support Miss Eastwood’s mother, Carole, and younger sister Gemma.
Detective Superintendent Simon Duffy, from the force’s Major and Organised Crime Department, said: ‘The discovery today is not what anyone wanted and this is now a homicide investigation.
‘A 32-year-old man who was previously released on conditional bail has now been re-arrested for murder and remains in custody.’
The discovery followed an intensification of the search following analysis of CCTV footage taken near the village of Caverswall.
‘They were looking at traffic turning down Tickhill Lane during a specific half-hour window last Friday night,’ said one villager, who did not want to be named.
‘They must have seen something because they’ve been all over this area since then.’ A helicopter was deployed on Friday evening to search the area and dozens of officers were drafted in yesterday to scour the rural area.
Miss Eastwood was last seen on CCTV as she left work just before 7.45am on Friday, July 27. She was headed in the direction of her home. A neighbour reported hearing a scream coming from her property at 2pm that afternoon and police became increasingly concerned as she ‘dropped off the radar’.
Miss Eastwood, a midwife and graduate of Keele University, was described by Gemma as ‘happy, bubbly and warm’ during an emotional appeal for her safe return a week after her disappearance.
Just before the police discovered the body, Gemma, 26, had taken again to Facebook to write: ‘Please help get my sister home.’
Colleagues said Miss Eastwood was exceptionally dedicated.
Chief nurse Liz Rix, of University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, wrote on Twitter: ‘It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague Samantha Eastwood.
‘Sam will be deeply missed and our thoughts are with her family and friends during this time. Sam, who had worked as a midwife at Royal Stoke for six years, was a much loved and valued member of the maternity service.’
Miss Eastwood had been due to marry long-term boyfriend and railway enthusiast John Peake, 34, in June, but called it off in January and put her wedding dress up for sale last month. Friends say the split was amicable.
As well as maintaining a presence at Miss Eastwood’s home, police officers carried out forensic searches on a property less than two miles away in Baddeley Green, where Mr Peake’s sister Katie Stirling lives with her husband Michael, 32.
They also searched a property belonging to another member of the Peake family who was said to be in a care home.
Last night, police said two other men, aged 28 and 60, had been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
A spokesman for the force added: ‘Our thoughts go out to Samantha’s family at this time.
‘The body is likely to be formally identified on Monday.’