'Bone material' found in Gibraltar search for missing Royal Navy sailor

Simon Parkes was 18 when he vanished on December 12 after a night out when the ship he was on, HMS Illustrious, had put in at Gibraltar in 1986.

Det Insp Roger Wood launched a search on Monday with a nine-strong team including two forensic anthropologists at Trafalgar Cemetery on the Rock.

Hampshire police launched a probe in 2001 when killer Allan Grimson, 60, confessed to murdering two young men in Portsmouth.

Now Det Insp Wood said bone material has been found but he is ‘cautious not to put too much significance’ on this find.

The homicide detective said: ‘We knew that there was a chance we wouldn’t find Simon, but we owed it to his family and his crew mates to try.

‘The information that led us to Trafalgar Cemetery is credible and as with any cold case, we will take action if new, viable lines of enquiry present themselves.

‘While the searches were not successful in the way we had hoped, we have found some bone material which may or may not be human.

‘Further tests are needed to determine what they are and while this is a positive discovery, we are cautious not to put too much significance on it at this time.

‘On top of this, our activity has also generated new lines of enquiry from the public.

‘This means that the investigation is far from over and we will be following-up these promising leads both in the UK and Gibraltar.’

In a joint statement Simon’s parents Margaret, 73, and David, 77, said: ‘We would like to thank everyone involved for their support and the opportunity to again search for Simon.

‘It is a very difficult time but we are optimistic that the search is not over and we will never give up hope of finding him.’

Anyone with information or who served on board the aircraft carrier with Simon should call police on 101 quoting Operation Thornhill.