Man who found body of murdered teen 22 years ago speaks for first time

Andy Glover, who stills lives locally in Mytholmroyd was one of two canal workers who made the grim discovery of Lindsay’s body in April 1995 whilst working on the Rochdale Canal Lindsay Jo Rimer went missing from Hebden Bridge on

November 7 , 1994, and her body was found in the Rochdale Canal the following April.

He is now supporting police with a further appeal for information, 22 years after the school girl was last seen.

Mr Glover spoke about the moment he and his colleague found what they first thought was a sheep;

“As part of our weekly tasks we checked the lengths of the canal. There were regularly items in the water that we had to remove, like reed-beds, deceased cattle, sheep and deer. We thought that it was a sheep. As we pulled it towards us, the body rolled in the water. There was no mistaking who it was, we saw the stands of hair on her face and knew.

“We had found Lindsay Rimer.

“I got home late that day, and my wife was asking where I had been and why I hadn’t phoned. I just said, “We have found her.” I didn’t need to say who. She knew instantly I was talking about Lindsay.

“It has stayed with me, it always will.”

Ahead of the 22nd anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance Lindsay’s mother, Geri Rimer, said: “It will be 22 years that we have been making these appeals, 22 years of complete anguish and heartbreak and still nobody has come forward.

“I know that the answer to this is in Hebden Bridge and somebody knows what happened to my daughter and I am begging them, begging them, just to come forward and tell us what happened to her.

“She did not deserve to die, she has missed out on so much, the community has missed out, her family has missed out and I want justice for Lindsay.”

Det Supt Simon Atkinson of West Yorkshire Police, who is leading the enquiry, said developments in forensic science provided a new hope of catching Lindsay’s killer and believes someone in Hebden Bridge knows what happened that night.

He said: “We’re still working on exhibits that were recovered at the time. We are working with colleagues in Canada and Germany, and we are literally pushing back the frontiers of forensic science working on this case. We won’t give up until we have exhausted all those forensic opportunities.

“This is a very close knit community. It is one of those communities where if something like this happens somebody would know about it. The killer would not be able to keep this a secret and people would know.

“For whatever reason they haven’t come forward but it is never too late.

“I am determined, as are my staff, to get it solved to bring the killer of Lindsay Rimer to justice and allow her family some closure.”