Missing woman's remains found on a beach in Brighton after she vanished 140 miles away

The remains of a woman who disappeared from Jersey eight months ago have been found on a beach in Brighton, police have confirmed. Anne Potter was last seen leaving her home on the Channel Islands on October 20 last year. She was believed to be walking towards the north coast, in the direction of Greve De Lecq.

A major multi-agency search operation was launched at the time, involving police, lifeboat crews, coastguard teams, and drones. But no trace of her was found until now. This week, Sussex Police confirmed that human remains discovered on a beach in Brighton had been matched to Anne through DNA testing.

In a statement, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Hafey of the States of Jersey Police said: "We must unfortunately confirm the death of Anne Potter who went missing in Jersey last autumn.

"Remains were located on a beach in Brighton which have now been confirmed as a DNA match with Anne.

"Anne was reported missing to the SOJP, prompting an immediate multi-agency response.

"Our thoughts are with her husband, family, and friends."

At the time of her disappearance, police issued a public appeal for help.

In a Facebook post on October 20, officers wrote: "We are concerned for the welfare for Anne Potter.

"She was last seen leaving her property at about 12:30pm today. She is believed to have headed out west towards Greve De Lecq. She is believed to be wearing a black windbreaker jacket and blue jeans."

Just days later, police updated the public on the ongoing efforts, saying: "An extensive search of the north coast spanning from Greve de Lecq west to L'Etacq and east to Sorel Point has been conducted and coordinated by SOJP.

"The drone rescue team and CI Air Search have also been conducting searches along the north coast and will continue to do so.

"Further shoreline searches have been conducted along Jersey's west coast beaches. A multi-agency approach has been employed in the search for Anne."

It is not yet known whether her death is being treated as suspicious.

The island's coroner is in consultation with the Sussex coroner to determine if further investigation is required.

The news comes just after a missing 13-year-old boy sparked a major search near River Tees.