Detectives have ended their search of country parks and nature reserves as part of the murder investigation into the death of Stuart Everett.
Greater Manchester Police's Serious Crime Division and Specialist Operations Department completed searches of various locations across Salford, Walkden and Manchester.
The search started after the torso of Mr Everett, 67, wrapped in clear plastic, was found by a passer-by on April 4, in Kersal Dale Wetlands, a nature reserve close to Prestwich, with more remains found at other sites following a huge police search of 16 separate locations.
These included Blackleach Country Park.
The officers thanked the public for their understanding while they investigated key locations identified through domestic inquiries and CCTV analysis.
The investigation team, although they have finalised their searches, continue to make efforts to offer the answers the victim's family needs to move forward.
It is reported that hundreds of people across Salford have been interviewed during the door-to-door inquiries.
With detective work and thorough CCTV inquiries, 18 search locations were identified.
Stuart Everett (Image: Greater Manchester Police)
Detective Superintendent Lewis Hughes, from GMP’s Serious Crime Division, said: “Speaking on behalf of everyone in Greater Manchester Police, our thoughts remain with Stuart’s family.
"We have always had them in the forefront of our minds and our actions have been focussed on finding answers for his family whilst the investigation progresses. Stuart’s family continue to be supported by specialist officers."
“It has been a challenging couple of months for everyone involved in this case, from uniformed officers who kept the scenes secure to enable our Tactical Aid Unit, Specialist Search and canine teams, Crime Scene Investigators and Underwater Search Unit to search in locations across Salford, Manchester and Bury.
"As a force we have used all resources available to us to find vital evidence and answers for Stuart’s family.
“Our officers have been out daily conducting thorough searches in demanding conditions and locations, with an unwavering showcase of professionalism which has shown the very best in our force.
“This is also extended to our detective resources who throughout the investigation have personally sacrificed much of their time to ensure that we could be in a position to charge two individuals – their focus has always been on getting justice for Stuart’s family and this hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“We understand that our presence over the last four months will have been disruptive to local residents as many of the locations we searched were public places and we were there over weekends and bank holidays.
"We have seen first-hand the emotion that has been felt in the communities across Salford and further afield, including social media posts extending condolences to Stuart’s loved ones.
"We know they have seen these comments and are grateful for the support they are receiving in Manchester."
“Although we have concluded our searches, there is still much work to do. We said right at the start that we would leave no stone unturned, and this continues to be the case as we move forward with our investigation.”
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