DETECTIVES renewed appeals last night to trace a 32-year-old man after the discovery of his partner's body in a car boot.Police believe the body found in a car in Riviera Drive, Southend, at 10.

DETECTIVES renewed appeals last night to trace a 32-year-old man after the discovery of his partner's body in a car boot.

Police believe the body found in a car in Riviera Drive, Southend, at 10.30pm on Sunday is that of Inga Losiene, 32, from the town, who has been missing for nine days.

They are still searching for her partner, Farik Farukh, who has been missing since Sunday, May 29.

He is known to have driven from Southend to Ipswich with Ms Losiene's two children on the day she was last seen and police believe he has strong links to the Suffolk's town's Iraqi-Kurd community.

Last night, they repeated appeals for information about Mr Farukh following the discovery of the body and the launch of a murder investigation.

Det Supt Simon Dinsdale, who is leading the inquiry, said: "We are making enquiries with all friends and associates of Inga and Farik and would like to hear from anyone who knows them."

An Essex Police spokeswoman said last night that detectives believed the body found in the car was that of Ms Losiene, although formal identification would take some time.

"At this stage, Dept Supt Simon Dinsdale is not disclosing the cause of death for operational reasons although suffice to say this is now, without a doubt, a murder inquiry.

"Inga's family have been told of the latest developments and are understandably distraught."

Police were also carrying out forensic examinations of the car and extensive searches of the road, near Southend East Railway Station. A member of the public has alerted police to the car.

Ms Losiene, from Lithuania, was last seen shopping in Southend town centre on Friday, May 27.

On that day, Mr Farukh drove to Ipswich with her two children, a girl aged 11 and a boy aged six.

It is still unclear why Mr Farukh made the trip to Suffolk. They are thought to have stayed overnight in Ipswich before their car broke down after they had driven off the following morning.

Mr Farukh flagged down an elderly couple to get a lift to Felixstowe Railway Station and it is believed the trio caught a number of trains to get back to Southend.

The blue-grey Rover was later found abandoned on the A14 near Trimley St Martin, but it is no longer thought crucial to the probe.

Mr Farukh left the two children with a babysitter on Saturday evening and the alarm was raised when he did not return to collect them after work the following day, when it emerged Ms Losiene was also missing.

The children have been spoken to by police in a bid to trace the couple and are now being cared for by relatives in Southend.

Mr Farukh is of Middle Eastern appearance with dark hair. Anyone with information about his whereabouts or has any information about his movements in the last 10 days should call Essex Police on 01268 775 588.