The body of Jo Yeates was found near Bristol on Christmas Day Detectives have begun a Facebook campaign in a bit to catch the killer of Jo Yeates.
Her body was found on Christmas Day, in Longwood Lane, Failand, eight days after she was reported missing from her home in Clifton, Bristol.
The campaign involves an advert that will allow people to contact the incident room via the social networking site rather than calling in.
Police said Facebook was more effective than posters and leaflet drops.
Detectives investigating the murder of the 25-year-old landscape architect have said there is no evidence she was sexually assaulted, but they have not ruled out a sexual motive.
The force has appealed for sightings of a 4×4 seen near to where her body was found.
Her landlord, Chris Jefferies, 65, who was arrested on suspicion of her murder, is free on bail.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Jones, of Avon and Somerset Police, said he hoped the Facebook appeal would encourage more people to come forward with information.
“The majority of people these days are spending time on Facebook and other social networking sites; this has become part of everyday routine for many people,” he said.
“This advert allows us to point people to special features on our website with all the latest information, it allows them to contact the incident room direct online rather than calling in.
“I would once again urge anyone who may have not contacted my team and may have information that could help this enquiry to contact us. Let us decide if this information is significant.”
He said police had successfully used Facebook in a number of high-profile cases because information could be shared more widely than by poster.
Scott Fulton, head of e-services at the force, said: “On this inquiry alone we have had shares of the story from the force’s Facebook page of 24,220.
“Additionally there have been over 63,000 views of the news updates on our website, a further 18,000 on the dedicated Jo page and over 70,000 views of the CCTV clips on our YouTube channel.
“Through the website we have had 260 inbound messages to the incident room through the website.”
Miss Yeates was last seen at about 2000 GMT on 17 December after she had been drinking with colleagues in the Bristol Ram pub in Park Street in the city.
She visited three shops on the way home and was filmed on CCTV.
She bought a pizza in one of the stores – the receipt was discovered in her flat but no evidence of the pizza or the packaging has been found.
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