MELANIE Hall's disappearance in 1996 sparked one of the west's biggest ever police investigations.

Police have never closed the case and several times hopes have been raised of an answer.

Police questioned hundreds of clubbers, carried out house-to-house calls in the city and searched roads, gardens and the River Avon.

They thought they had a breakthrough a week after she disappeared, when police helicopters flew into action after a member of the public reported a possible sighting of Melanie.

A man said he had seen a young woman who matched her description on the towpath near Bradford on Avon, but a thorough search found nothing.

In September 1996, the police said publicly for the first time that they believed Melanie was dead.

Detective Superintendent Steve Livings, who led the initial investigation, said he feared "something awful" had happened to Melanie, who had been described as a responsible person.

In November that year, the BBC's Crimewatch programme showed a reconstruction of her last movements.

It prompted more than 100 calls, but none of them provided the information police had hoped for.

A man made two calls to the Bath incident room after the reconstruction was shown and police believed he could have crucial information, but, tragically, he never rang back.

Speaking on camera for the first time about her disappearance was Melanie's boyfriend, Philip Kurlbaum, who she met through her work at the hospital.

In the programme he spoke of how upset he felt when he saw her dancing with another man the night she disappeared.

Mr Kurlbaum said: "I could not explain it, we had a wonderful time and were in really good spirits and went to have some fun and I saw her dance with this man in a rather intimate fashion."

He said he left the club and waited for her in his car. She did not come out of Cadillacs and Mr Kurlbaum decided to drive home alone.

He said: "She appeared to me an affectionate and attractive woman. I had sort of dated her for three weeks. We did quite a lot of things together, we went out for meals, to the cinema and had a very good time."

The investigation was scaled down in 1997 when police admitted they had little more to go on.

On the first anniversary of her disappearance, her parents visited the club to hand out leaflets, hoping to jog people's memories.

Det Supt Livings said: "We did not have much response to that evening. I feel sad for the whole family, I have got no news to tell them. I cannot even tell them I have found Melanie in whatever state she is in."

Then, in 1998, police interviewed a convicted murderer in connection with Melanie's disappearance.

John Cannan was convicted of the murder of Bristol woman, Shirley Banks in 1987.

Cannan shared a cell with rapist Christopher Clark who attacked a woman in Bath six weeks after Melanie disappeared.

Her parents never gave up hope and on the second anniversary of her disappearance they put up a £10,000 reward for new information.

There were no new leads until December 2000 when police again linked their operation to another case.

Mark Shillibier had been convicted of murdering teenager Rebecca Storrs, and a friend of his claimed Shillibier had bragged about killing Melanie.

The police said they were linking Shillabier to her disappearance, but since then no further information has been released.