They appeared on Twitter feeds for the police and BBC Radio Derby, and were soon all over the internet. Detectives wanted to hear from anyone who’d been in an area of the Upper Dove Valley last night near a location known as Hollins Bridge. When Cooper heard the appeal, he realised the press office had decided against using the familiar colloquial name for the bridge. Instead they had chosen the official name, which featured on Ordnance Survey maps of the White Peak but was never used by ordinary people. At least, it wasn’t used by local people – only by visitors who relied entirely on maps. That was a pity. The individuals they were hoping to hear from would surely be local. Too often people didn’t have enough knowledge about their own locality. Not accurate, factual knowledge. They just knew the stories and legends, and the vernacular names. So he just had to hope that someone with useful information would make the proper connection. But wasn’t that the whole principle behind solving crime?
