THE FAMILY of a missing woman are demanding an independent review into the police’s handling of the case.

Sussex Police announced they had upgraded the case to a murder investigation in August last year after the disappearance of Georgina Gharsallah, 30, on March 7, 2018.

Now, the family have written to the new Chief Constable of Sussex Police, Jo Shiner, requesting an independent body investigate the “actions, failures and reasoning behind all the decision making over the last two years in this investigation”.

This is the second letter open letter sent by the family to the force.

The family are also looking for answers to a series of questions surrounding the case.

They ask what evidence police have to declare it a homicide, why CCTV in Worthing town centre was not reviewed earlier and why the family had to carry out their own reconstruction of Georgina’s last known movements.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: “A comprehensive response to these questions was provided to the family by the Chief Constable Giles York in January of this year.

“This response encompassed the significant investigative effort and lines of enquiry conducted over the last 28 months; including the number of house-to-house enquiries, the number of individuals spoken to, the areas searched and the potential sightings investigated, as well as details of the ongoing review by a crime review team.

“The Senior Investigating Officer, and other members of the dedicated team searching for Georgina, have had, and continue to have, regular contact with Georgina’s mother to update her on the investigation. We continue to remain committed to the investigation and to understand the full circumstances of the disappearance.

“Georgina has not been seen or heard from for over two years and we understand the distress this is causing the family and continue to seek the answers both we and they are searching for.”

The mother of two from Worthing was captured on CCTV at Clifton Stores in the town and later in Chapel Road on March 7.

The family’s letter states: “Unfortunately, our trust and confidence in the investigation carried out so far by Sussex Police has been minimal since they first started their investigation.

“Our trust and confidence in Sussex Police’s investigation in Georgina’s case has been further eroded over the last two years.”

Anyone with any information should either report online or call 101 quoting Operation Pavo.

Crimestoppers is also offering a reward of up to £10,000 for information.