Teenager arrested again after police find body in Yorkshire canal

Last night detectives confirmed that a woman's body had been found in a canal.

The body had not been formally identified, but officers said they were keeping 17-year-old Laura Wilson's family updated about developments.

No cause of death has yet been established and a post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted this morning.

The grim discovery was made in the canal near Steel Street in Rotherham yesterday afternoon after some personal belongings believed to have been owned by Miss Wilson were found in the area.

That breakthrough prompted police to begin a more thorough search using divers and a large tent was put up at the scene.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said the death was being treated as suspicious "as a matter of routine".

Police have confirmed that the body was in the canal, but have not revealed any further details of the circumstances in which it was found.

Detectives arrested a 17-year-old yesterday on suspicion of assault but today confirmed he has been rearrested on suspicion of murder.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "Due to the discovery of a female body in the canal near Steel Street, Rotherham, yesterday afternoon, police last night rearrested a 17-year-old man on suspicion of murder as a matter of course.

"The 17-year-old was originally arrested yesterday morning on suspicion of assault and remains in police custody assisting officers with their inquiries."

Last night a string of tributes to mother-of-one Miss Wilson were posted on a Facebook webpage set up to try to find her.

One said: "You shall live in the hearts of those who loved you xx."

Another wrote: "RIP Laura my thoughts are with your family and friends and specially your little girl. How can something like this happen in our own town."

Police were called in after Miss Wilson went missing at the weekend. She had last been seen at around 9.30pm on Saturday, close to her home in the Holmes area of Rotherham.

After her disappearance police described her family as "understandably distraught".