London - Police hunting for clues in the abduction and murder of Sarah Payne sent a scrap of blue cloth for forensic tests yesterday but said a shoe found at the weekend did not belong to the eight-year-old.
West Sussex police have already recovered one shoe they believe could have been worn by the girl when she was abducted on July 1st while playing with her sister and brothers near their grandparents' home.
A police spokesman said a shoe was found on Saturday evening at the village of West Chiltington, near Pulborough, where the naked body of the abducted child was found last Monday. "It has been eliminated from the inquiry", he said.
Police hoping for leads into Sarah's death spent the night questioning motorists at several checkpoints and also sealed off an area near Bramber Castle, about 16 km from Pulborough, after the discovery of some clothing.
However, the find is one of several items of clothing that have been reported in the search for the girl's blue dress that police believe could hold clues to her killer.