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Children's home search stepped up

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Archaeologists and forensic scientists are conducting fingertip searches of a former Jersey children's home where the remains of a child have been found.

The remains found at Haut de la Garenne on Saturday were detected by a sniffer dog through several inches of concrete.

Jersey police say the dog has also indicated other areas that warrant further investigation.

The search is part of an ongoing police investigation into alleged abuse on the island dating back more than 40 years.

Jersey's Deputy Chief Police Officer, Lenny Harper, who is in charge of the investigation, said detectives thought it was possible they may find more remains at the building in St Martin, on the east coast of the Channel Island.

Clothing

He told journalists on Sunday: "The dog has made further indications inside and outside the premises that are going to require further examination in detail later."

Mr Harper said the archaeologists and forensic scientists were concentrating on a number of "trenches" at the site where the remains were found, and the police would turn their attention to the other areas in the next few days.

He added that it was a "very slow and painstaking business", and the current search could take another two weeks.

He also said items of clothing had been found which "tends to corroborate" other bodies being found.

And that the information which sparked the excavation had been provided by three sources.

"No one source said there was more than one body, but it was a possibility that they were talking about different persons involved," said Mr Harper.

Leads

Jersey Police began investigating allegations of abuse in 2006.

More than 140 potential victims or witnesses have contacted a helpline set up last year, a police spokeswoman said.

Police have identified dozens of possible suspects in connection with the wider inquiry, with detectives following up leads in Europe and as far away as Australia.

Secrets of Jersey home

The investigation involves several government institutions and organisations in Jersey, with the Haut de la Garenne home and Jersey Sea Cadets the main focus of the inquiry.

It is centred on the abuse of boys and girls aged between 11 and 15, since the 1960s.

The excavation of the home, involving a sniffer dog and ground radar, started on Tuesday.

The child's remains have been sent to the UK for dating.

The remains are thought to date from the early 1980s. Police have not said whether they are male or female.

Mr Harper said that identification of the child would be a "long and arduous" process but officers were back at police headquarters making inquiries into missing children.

"There are records, just how good those records are for periods before contemporaneous times, I'm not quite sure," he said.

Former Jersey Health Minister Senator Stuart Syvret has urged anyone who was at Haut de la Garenne to come forward.

His concerns last year about alleged child abuse in Jersey institutions led to an independent review of child care services by Jersey's parliament, the States of Jersey.

Haut de la Garenne started life in 1867 as the Industrial School, for "young people of the lower classes of society and neglected children".

It is now Jersey's Youth Hostel and featured as a police station in the TV series Bergerac, which is set on the island.

Police say it is vital that any alleged victims still unidentified contact the incident room as soon as possible, on 0800 735 7777. There is also an NSPCC helpline on 0800 169 1173 within Jersey, or + 44(0)20 7825 7489 from outside.

2008 Feb 24