A MAN HAS appeared in court charged with the murder of Samantha Eastwood, a midwife in England who went missing for eight days.

The BBC reports that the man was remanded in custody after appearing at North Staffordshire Justice Centre. He will next appear in court on 8 August.

Samantha Eastwood (28) was last seen leaving work after her night shift at Royal Stoke University Hospital in Staffordshire at 7.45am on Friday 27 July.

She did not return for her next night shift later that day at 7pm. After colleagues raised concern about this, she was reported missing to police.

During searches on rural land this weekend, police found the body of a woman. The body is believed to be that of Samantha Eastwood, pending a post-mortem and official identification.

Yesterday, Samantha Eastwood’s family thanked those who followed her story and tried to help. They also asked for their privacy to be respected at this time.

Comments are off as this case is before the courts.