POLICE have taken to social media in the hope of identifying a woman, believed to have originated from South Asia, whose body was found close to Penyghent 14 years ago.

Officers have set up a community group on Facebook which they hope will be shared across the North of the country and abroad in an attempt to reach her relatives and friends so she can finally be identified.

The woman, whose body was found by walkers on the Pennine Way, near Horton-in-Ribblesdale, in 2004, had been in the country for at least two years and is thought to have lived in the Lancashire, Cumbria or Western Dales area.

Police believe she could have originally been from a country such as the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore or Indonesia.

Officers say she will have last have been in contact with friends or family members in 2004, and people may well have been told that she had ‘gone back home’ around the time of her disappearance.

When she died, she was probably aged between 25 and 35 years old, had black hair, cut above the shoulder, and was quite short – about 4ft 11ins (1.5 metres) tall.

The woman was wearing a wedding ring when she was found, and is believed to have had children or been pregnant in the past. She is known to have shopped at Marks and Spencer and was dressed in size 12 clothing at the time of her death, but may well have been slimmer in previous years.

Adam Harland, of North Yorkshire Police’s Cold Case Review Unit, said: “It has been 14 years since this woman’s body was found in the Yorkshire Dales, and despite extensive inquiries in this country and abroad she has not been identified.

“It’s possible that she was last in contact with others in 2004, and people in the UK may well have been told that she had ‘gone back home’ around that time. That is why we’re particularly asking people with links to the South East Asian community to get involved, by sharing our appeal with their friends and relatives. We’ve set up a community group on Facebook to allow them to do just that, and are asking people join if you think they can help.”

To visit the community group, go to: facebook.com/groups/nypccru.