A MURDER probe has been launched after DNA checks revealed a skeleton found in Lancashire in 2002 is missing Swindon man Darren Carley.

Darren, 24, left his home in Lyndhurst Crescent, Park North, in January 2002. He was believed to be wearing white tracksuit bottoms with black stripes, an orange fleece and white trainers when he went missing.

Seven months later police were called to farmland at Charnock Richard, near Chorley, Lancs, after a man’s skeleton was discovered. A post-mortem revealed the man had been killed after he was hit over the head.

The skeleton’s identity remained a mystery until advances in DNA allowed police to identify the man as Darren Carley.

Lancashire Police said a fresh murder inquiry had been launched to try and piece together how Darren died and who killed him.

Det Ch Insp Geoff Hurst of the force’s major investigation team, said: "First and foremost my thoughts are with Darren’s family. For 16 years they have been left desperately searching for answers following his disappearance and I hope that the fact that he has now finally been identified and returned to them will offer them some peace.

“While this investigation has never been closed, we now have a renewed focus on finding who killed Darren and piecing together exactly what happened to him after he went missing and how his body came to be in Lancashire. Hopefully we will be able to provide some further answers and some justice for his family.

“We will not let the passage of time be a barrier to our investigation and we have a dedicated team of detectives working on this, pursuing a number of lines of enquiry.

“While I appreciate Darren went missing some time ago I would ask the public to cast their minds back to 2002– the year when Manchester hosted the Commonwealth Games. Did you see or meet Darren at this time? Do you have any information which could help with our investigation or piecing together his final movements?

“We have a six-month gap between him being reported missing and his body being found and we’re appealing for anyone who had contact with him between January and July 2002 to come forward. Any information, no matter how small, could prove to be significant.”

Anyone with information should contact Lancashire Police on 101 and quote log number 456 of October 4 or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.