The first disturbing pics have been released from the basement of a café which cops fear could be the final resting place of missing Mary Bastholm, suspected to have been murdered by Fred West.
Chilling images from the Clean Plate café in the centre of Gloucester show drill holes in the floor and chalk markings where detectives will probe.
It comes after a TV production company threw light onto Mary's case with the dramatic discovery of gritty footage showing blue material buried in the cellar.
When she went missing from a bus stop in Gloucester in January 1968 she was wearing a blue dress and blue coat, and had a blue bag.
Forensics teams have since confirmed more investigation is needed.
There are six voids in the floor which will be examined one by one and several structural oddities that will be looked at over a painstaking two weeks.
The video, released by Gloucester police, eerily shows toilets which police believe Fred West could have personally built.
Top officer, Detective Chief Inspector John Turner, in charge of the investigation, said on Tuesday: “West was a regular at the cafe, then called the Pop-In, and knew Mary as she worked there as a waitress.
“Fred West was always indicated as being involved in Mary's disappearance and possibly her death," Mr Turner said.
“We will be searching the basement to find out what, if anything, is there.
“If anything is found we will carry out a forensic review and we will look to seek people within the investigation that we need to interview.
“If Fred were alive, undoubtedly he would be interviewed around the disappearance of Mary."
The Wests tortured, raped and murdered several women over an evil 20-year-period.
Nine of the victims were buried in the cellar and garden of the house, which they bought in the 1970s when they moved from nearby Cheltenham.
West is said to have confessed killing Mary to his son, Stephen, but he has never admitted it to police.
Detectives have recently spoken to Stephen West, Mr Turner said.
Mary's body was not found during the 1994 excavation of the Wests' home on Cromwell Street in Gloucester.
Demented Fred West, who died in prison in 1995 at the age of 53, was previously suspected over Mary's disappearance.
He is the only one who really knows if he had involvement in Mary's death," Mr Turner said.
Mary's body was not found during the 1994 excavation of the Wests' home, now known as the House of Horrors, on Cromwell Street in Gloucester.
"Since then there has been a lot of rumour and folklore about Mary and Fred's link with the cafe and the decision was made that there was insufficient evidence at the time to excavate the site," Mr Turner added.
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"I met the Bastholm family on Monday and spoke with them at length about what we were going to do and the plan moving forward.
"Clearly since 1968 the family haven't known what's happened to Mary.
"There has been some speculation that she may have been linked to Fred West at that time and there was conflicting information within the investigation around that.
"But it is really important to them that we do actually now search for the truth and find out once and for all if Mary is buried under the basement."
In a statement, Mary's family said: "We are extremely happy Gloucestershire Police is continuing to try and search for Mary and this gives us a chance to potentially put her at rest after all these years.
"We hope this is a chance to finally get closure for Mary and would like to continue to ask for privacy whilst the excavation is ongoing."
Fred was charged with 12 murders but took his own life before trial, while Rose was convicted of 10 murders in November 1995 and is serving life.
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