Bluewater body is not Danielle

Police investigating the disappearance of Essex schoolgirl Danielle Jones today said after checking dental records a body found on a building site is not hers. Her family had been bracing themselves for the news that it was Danielle.

Detectives say the badly decomposed body was wrapped and tied up in a blue tarpaulin sheet and is a young woman aged between 14 and 20 years.

A post mortem proved inconclusive and further tests are being carried out but officers believe the victim, discovered on a building site near the Bluewater shopping centre near Dartford on Friday, could have died from strangulation.

Police sources initially said the hair colour, which was in a ponytail, matched Danielle's and stud earrings, which Danielle also wore, were found on the body. However, Kent police have now launched their own murder investigation.

The body was fully clothed, but not believed to be in school uniform. Kent Police say they do not have any young woman matching this description who is missing.

For eight months her parents have been hoping against all hope the 15-year-old would walk back through their front door. Danielle was last seen near her home walking to catch a bus to Stanford-le-Hope on 18 June. Her uncle, builder Stuart Campbell, 43, of Grays, has been charged with her murder.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said the family had been prepared to hear the worst. She said: "They want closure, they need to know what has happened for better or worse."