A murder investigation has been launched after a teenager was found dead in a park in Cheshire.
Brianna Ghey's body was found on a path at Linear Park in Culcheth, Warrington, by members of the public, who alerted the police at 3.13pm yesterday.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, Cheshire Police have said.
The 16-year-old suffered multiple stab wounds in a "targeted attack" and a Home Office post-mortem examination is taking place to establish her cause of death.
Police are now appealing to speak to a man and a woman with dark, curly hair who were seen in the park where the teenager's body was found.
They are both described as being white, in their late teens or early twenties.
The man was wearing a longish dark hooded coat and the woman had a distinctive red or purple-black checked blanket-style coat, police said.
She was also wearing a long flowing skirt, dress or trousers, they added.
Anyone who may have seen Brianna in the hours before her death has also been asked to contact the police to help them with their investigation.
Detective Chief Supt Mike Evans described it as a “targeted attack” on Brianna during a “busy day” at the park.
He said they were “keeping an open mind and would continue to follow other lines of enquiry that appear” and it wasn’t known if the teenager knew her attacker.
He said: "This is a truly awful attack on a 16-year-old girl, who has sadly lost her very short life. We are appealing for any information that will help us find who has done this to Brianna.
"In particular we are keen to speak to two people that were seen in the park where Brianna's body was found who have been described as a white man and woman, in their late teens/early twenties, both with dark curly hair.
"The man was wearing a longish dark hooded coat and the woman had a distinctive red or purple black checked blanket-style coat and a long flowing skirt, dress or trousers.
"We are also keen to speak to anyone who was in the park from around 1.30pm until 4.00pm yesterday or anyone who may have seen Brianna in the hours leading up to her death.
"We would ask people and businesses within the local community to check any CCTV or dashcam footage for anything that may aid our investigation.
"I would like to reassure the local community that we are working hard to find those responsible for Brianna’s death and we have extra officers in and around Culcheth supporting the investigation. We also have officers supporting Brianna’s family at this really tragic time."
A man said he’d seen police vehicles arriving at the scene, which remained cordoned off today as a forensics scene combed an area of the park.
He said: “The park is very popular and is used by dog-walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
“It’s an old railway track with one main path that branches off further down.‘Kids sometimes go down of a night with bottles of alcohol.
"But this is a quiet area normally, so it’s a bit of a shock this has happened.
”Around a dozen police vehicles, including a dog unit, were stationed at the scene on Sunday with activity centred on the Wigshaw Lane access point to the park."
Information can be reported anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.
