Forensic investigators from Merseyside Police remained at a block of flats in Runcorn this morning as the force declined to comment on the reasons for the attendance.
Two Merseyside scientific support vans were parked alongside a Cheshire Constabulary patrol car among residents' parking bays at the foot of The Decks on Mersey Road when the ECHO visited the area. A second Cheshire Police car came and went.
There was no obvious sign of any police activity or search in the nearby Manchester Ship Canal or River Mersey. Nor were any forensic officers seen coming or going at the flats, nor any external cordon.
