Police reveal identity of Thai woman found dead on remote Yorkshire Dales mountainside

The body, dubbed the ‘Lady of the Hills’ after her half-naked remains were found by walkers on the Pennine Way, near Horton-in-Ribblesdale, in September 2004, has been revealed as that of Lamduan Armitage, nee Seekanya. Investigators previously said she may have been killed and transported to the stream, possibly by a 4x4 vehicle. A cause of death was never been established and a 2007 inquest recorded an open verdict. The married mother-of-three, who would now be aged 51, was finally identified after extensive inquiries and members of her family in Thailand were DNA tested. A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: “Police are working with the Crown Prosecution Service to obtain the legal authority to interview members of Lamduan’s family and conduct enquiries in Thailand with the co-operation and assistance of the Thai authorities, as well as conducting enquires in the UK.” Earlier this year, a Thai family told a press conference in the country the missing woman could be their relative. They said she married a British man in the 1990s and moved to England but they had not heard from her since 2004. Meanwhile police issued a new appeal for information to help build a picture of Mrs Armitage’s life in Thailand and at various places she lived in the UK between 1991 and 2004, including Portsmouth, Rugby in Warwickshire, and Preston. They believe Mrs Armitage, who was originally from the Udon Thani province in north-east Thailand, visited her native country at some point between 2003 and 2004, but it is not known which part of the country she went to. The spokesman said: “We are seeking information from anyone who knew Lamduan Armitage nee Seekanya or her family between 1991 and up to the time she died in September 2004. “No matter how small or seemingly insignificant you think the information is, it could prove to be very important to help us establish details about Lamduan’s life and the circumstances surrounding her death.” Last year, before she was identified, the force said it believed she was a “Thai bride” who came to this country after marrying a local man. In February, The Samui Times reported that Mrs Armitage had met her future husband - an English teacher - in Chiang Mai and that the pair had two children in Britain, where she worked in a restaurant, sending money to her family in Thailand on a monthly basis. A post-mortem examination indicated she had been dead between one and three weeks before her body was found. In 2007 a funeral was held for Mrs Armitage at a church in Horton-in-Ribblesdale a mile from where she was discovered, and a grave with the inscription “The Lady of the Hills” was erected. People can report information through the Major Incident Public Portal at www.mipp.police.uk or call 01609 643147.