RAZZELL VERDICT: OPERATION Docker the Swindon police investigation into the disappearance of mother of four Linda Razzell has been one of the biggest inquiries ever launched by Wiltshire Police.

Since it swung into operation in earnest on the evening she went missing on Tuesday, March 19, last year, 200 officers and specialist staff from four forces have pooled resources to hunt for the 41-year-old Swindon College learning support assistant and her killer.

Led by Detective Chief Inspector Paul Granger, Operation Docker has cost more than £250,000. His team has spoken to around 2,600 people, followed up more than 2,200 different lines of inquiry and taken 1,540 statements. During the investigation 9,000 documents of police evidence were collected and 1,890 exhibits seized.

It was the first time in the history of the force a murder trial had been brought without a body being found.

The inquiry ranked alongside other notable recent Wiltshire police investigations including the death of Mathew Hornsby in Freshbrook, the murder of nine-year-old Zoe Evans and the Randle Williams case. Williams, 43, of Bradford-on-Avon, was sentenced to life imprisonment in July for the murder of his wife Natalie.

At the time DCI Granger, 40, said: "The inquiry, which started on March 19, has been complex involving much scientific evidence.

"Experts have formed part of the inquiry's core team, as have specialist search teams and crime scene investigators from other forces.

"I'm absolutely convinced Linda Razzell's killer is Glyn Razzell and it's been high profile and is on a par with cases like the Zoe Evans case.

"But this is the first time we have taken a murder case to trial without a body being found.

"The fact she was a devoted mother of four children formed a major part of our evidence and we have heard about the blood in the Laguna car.

"We will not stop looking for her body because we realise it is an important part of the closure for the family.

"It has also been an extremely difficult time for the officers, but we have looked after them and given them all the support we can.

"Linda's family have coped with the pressures extremely well during what has been a real emotional roller coaster.

"They have conducted themselves in a dignified way throughout the proceedings during what has been a very difficult time."

Her family in Wales are now looking after Catherine, Matthew, Emma and Robin, Linda's four children.

Devoted mother Linda vanished on March 19 last year after parking her red Ford Escort in Alvescot Road in Old Walcot.

She had no spare clothes with her and left her passport and driving licence at her Pentylands Close home.

Police made a detailed examination of her route to work from Old Walcot to Swindon College, which included sweeps of Queen's Park in which a team of specialist divers from the Avon and Somerset force searched ponds, lakes and drains for clues.

Police also staged a reconstruction of Linda's walk to work via Upham Road and Drove Road, which was carried out by a member of the Swindon police support staff fitting Linda's description. Detectives sought clues and new leads by talking to people whose daily routine could have coincided with that of the missing mother.

The Evening Advertiser also helped the hunt by printing hundreds of posters and billboards, which were distributed across the town.