By Libby Sutcliffe BBC News Online

Jane Longhurst was described as stable, reliable and dependable.

For five weeks the disappearance of Jane Longhurst baffled every detective working on the case.

The 31-year-old teacher had vanished without a trace on 14 March.

Police were left with very few clues and even an offer of a �5,000 reward and news conferences with her family did not prompt anyone to come forward.

The detective leading the inquiry said in his 25-year-career he has never known anything like it.

It was at midnight on 14 March that police were first alerted to reports the teacher had gone missing.

Her partner, Malcolm Sentance, who works for West Sussex County Council, phoned the police after spending the afternoon and evening leaving messages on her mobile phone voicemail.

Malcolm Sentance last saw his partner when he left for work

He had last seen her at 0645 BST as he left for work from their flat in Shaftesbury Road, Brighton.

At 1540 BST when he returned home there was no sign of his girlfriend and he was not unduly worried.

But as the evening went on he began phoning friends before eventually contacting the police.

No-one close to Ms Longhurst could explain her disappearance as she was described as stable, reliable and dependable.

She worked at a school in Brighton with children with special needs and played in an orchestra in Lewes.

To begin with, the case was treated like an other missing person's inquiry but as the weekend passed and there was still no sign of Ms Longhurst, the seriousness of her disappearance started to dawn.

Her mother, Liz, and sister, Sue, appealed for Ms Longhurst's return

A major investigation was launched five days after she disappeared, with officers occupying eight rooms at police headquarters in Brighton.

About 20 detectives were assigned to Operation Keen with up to 70 officers overall involved in the search.

Helicopters were sent to circle areas throughout the county and fingertip searches were carried out in parks, railway cuttings and woods.

Even before Ms Longhurst's body was found in a common in West Sussex, Detective Inspector Chris Standard admitted there was a very slim chance she was alive.

When he talked about "finding Jane" he was speaking about finding her body.

Since her disappearance her bank account was not touched, her mobile phone was switched off and she took nothing with her which would suggest she was leaving.

Mr Standard said they had pondered every possible reason for her disappearance.

But the two most probable solutions were that she was abducted and killed or that she went willingly with someone and then was murdered.

Mr Standard said it was more likely she went with someone of her own accord because Ms Longhurst's physical fitness and strength meant she would not have been taken without a struggle.

Now after the identification of Ms Longhurst's body police have launched a murder hunt.