THE major breakthrough detectives had been hoping for in their quest to identify Miss Jin's body came from an amazing piece of luck involving the internet.

A South Korean police superintendent, who was taking a degree in policing studies and politics at Leeds University, had seen news coverage of the suitcase inquiry.

He also saw an appeal for information posted by Miss Jin's brother on a Korean language website, www.snailhome.com, which is used by Koreans travelling the globe.

Her brother posted pictures of his sister, the boots she was wearing and the camera she had with her, in a bid to find her. The superintendent alerted North Yorkshire detectives on January 2, 2002.

Miss Jin's fingerprints, which had been taken automatically as part of a national identity scheme in South Korea, were sent over and she was positively identified.

At the time, detectives were still trawling missing person reports, knowing only that the body was that of an Oriental woman in her twenties.

Detective Superintendent Alan Ankers said: "It was a big breakthrough for us. I am fairly confident we would have got there, but the intervention of the superintendent was clearly a big help."

Updated: 16:00 Tuesday, March 25, 2003