'Lie hampered search for missing Natasha'.

Summary: Police hunting a missing teenager were thrown off the trail thanks to a lie from a police employee, a report claimed.

Police hunting a missing teenager were thrown off the trail thanks to a lie from a police employee, a report claimed.

The body of 17-year-old Natasha Coombs was found close to Manningtree railway station on August 10, 2007 - two weeks after she was seen boarding a train in nearby Ipswich, Suffolk.

Post-mortem tests showed she had been hit by a train after walking alongside train tracks.

An inquiry was launched by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) after criticism from Natasha's father, insurance company manager Gary Coombs.

Mr Coombs said delays in finding his daughter's body contributed to his wife, 41-year-old Joanne, committing suicide at the same spot two months later.

The IPCC upheld four of his 11 complaints - and revealed the probe had been hampered at an early stage by a British Transport Police (BTP) communications officer.

The report said the employee admitted misleading an Essex police officer into thinking that trains were fitted with sensors that would have detected any collision.

This deflected the search for Natasha - despite intelligence that suggested "railway lines needed to be searched".

"The communications officer admitted he lied to an Essex police officer, initially telling IPCC officers that he did so to end the call, which would allow him to get on with his job, and that he actually had no knowledge of train sensors," the report said.

The employee resigned after being told he faced allegations of gross misconduct.

Further failures to conduct "thorough and timely searches" by Essex Police and the BTP were identified as contributing to a delay in finding Natasha's body.

Essex Police was also criticised for wrongly classifying Natasha as being at "medium risk" and for failures in its early investigation.

A complaint that "inappropriate, confidential and inaccurate information" was passed to the media - allegedly from a police source - was also upheld.

IPCC Commissioner David Petch said: "We conclude that the police did miss opportunities for a timely and thorough search for Natasha Coombs."

Both forces involved in the investigation have apologised to the Coombs family.

Assistant Chief Constable Derek Benson, of Essex Police, said: "Essex Police is sorry for the delay in finding Natasha and accepts that mistakes were made."

A BTP spokeswoman said: "BTP has apologised to Mr Coombs for our failings in supporting Essex Police's investigation into the disappearance of his daughter, Natasha, and the subsequent death of his wife, Joanne."

Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

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