Bones found on M5 are missing woman's

The human remains of Melanie Hall, a psychology graduate who has been missing since she left a nightclub in Bath 13 years ago, were found yesterday in a bin bag on the M5 motorway.

Hall disappeared in June 1996 after leaving Cadillac's nightclub following an argument with her boyfriend. Her last reported sighting was on a table near the dance floor shortly after 1am.

Despite an expansive enquiry including more than 2,000 police interviews, numerous television campaigns and a £10,000 reward, her body was never found. The search was abandoned, although a lack of evidence forced coroners to leave the case open.

On Monday, a workman on the M5 north of Bristol found a bag containing bones, a skull and a pelvis, which pathologists were able to confirm belonged to a female. Last night they had been identified as belonging to Hall.

Hall was working as a clerical officer in the orthopaedic department of the Royal United Hospital in Bath when she vanished. On Saturday 8 June, she went out with her German boyfriend Dr Philip Kurlbaum, whom she met on the orthopedic ward, and two friends. She had graduated from university in Bath with a degree in psychology and sociology, and was having a year out while she decided what to do.

After a barbecue party, the four ended up at Cadillac's nightclub in Walcott Street, now called Club XL.

It is believed that Hall and Dr Kurlbaum argued when he noticed her dancing with another man, prompting him to leave. Dr Kurlbaum, then 33, was questioned at length after her disappearance but was eliminated as a possible suspect. Last night he refused to comment on the discovery.