![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/1998-attack-believed-sexually-motivated-853322897.jpg\")
\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/1998-attack-believed-sexually-motivated-853322895.jpg\")
\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/1998-attack-believed-sexually-motivated-853322847.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPOLICE have issued a fresh bid to catch the killer of a mum who was stabbed to death while walking her dog 25 years ago.<\/p>\n
Lyn Bryant, 40, was the victim of a "brutal and prolonged" attack in a secluded spot near her home in Cornwall on October 20, 1998.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
Her body was discovered with multiple stab wounds in a field but despite a high-profile investigation, her killer has never been found.<\/p>\n
Police have now released a fresh appeal on the 25th anniversary of the sexually-motivated killing.<\/p>\n
A \u00a320,000 reward has also been offered by Crimestoppers for any information that could lead to a conviction.<\/p>\n
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Rob Smith said: "For 25 years the family of Lyn Bryant have lived with this terrible loss and uncertainty. <\/p>\n
"However, time has not diminished our commitment to bring the killer to justice and to give the family some peace.<\/p>\n "We know that 25 years is a long time but we remain convinced that someone knows what happened to Lyn and for some reason they have never come forward. <\/p>\n "Allegiances may have changed with the passage of time and those who found it difficult to talk to police may now feel able. Now is the time to contact us."<\/p>\n On the morning of her death, Lyn went to work as a cleaner at a local house before visiting her parents who lived nearby.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n At around 14.45pm, the mum-of-two drove her grey Ford Sierra to former Harris Garage at Tregony but they were out of fuel.<\/p>\n She then made her way to Chenoweth garage at Ruan High Lanes and bought fuel and groceries.<\/p>\n Chillingly, a white van that was on the forecourt followed Lyn as she drove away.<\/p>\n The driver, a heavy set man in his 50s with a scruffy beard, had been seen in the area in the days before the killing but he was not known to locals.<\/p>\n Police confirmed more than 6,700 similar white vans have been traced and eliminated over the course of the investigation.<\/p>\n After leaving the petrol station, Lyn returned home for lunch with her 19-year-old daughter Erin where they spoke about her upcoming birthday plans and watched Emmerdale.<\/p>\n Just after 1.30pm, Lyn set off on her usual dog walk with pet Jay, a tan and cream coloured lurcher.<\/p>\n At the time, she was wearing a brown Barbour-style wax jacket, a blue jumper, jeans and walking boots<\/span>.<\/p>\n Lyn was seen by several people on the "habitual" walk as she headed towards Ruan High Lanes Methodist Chapel, now a private home.<\/p>\n One reported seeing the mum speak to a 5ft 9ins man dressed in light-coloured clothing, possibly a light grey top and trousers.<\/p>\n Police say this sighting is "critical" as it could be the last time Lyn was seen alive.<\/p>\n Despite repeated appeals, the man – like the mysterious van driver – has never come forward.<\/p>\n Lyn's body was found by a woman driving<\/span> from her holiday home at around 2.30pm.<\/p>\n She had suffered knife wounds to her back and neck and a fatal stab wound to her chest with no attempt made to conceal her body.<\/p>\n DI Smith added: "We know that she must have fought against her attacker. Her clothing had been disturbed which leads us to conclude that this was a sexually-motivated murder.<\/p>\n "The weapon, believed to be a single-edged blade such as a penknife or a small kitchen knife, has never been found."<\/p>\n Between 2.45pm and 3pm, a third man was seen randomly walking across a field near to the murder scene.<\/p>\n He was described as aged in his mid-30s, of medium height and a medium to stocky build. <\/p>\n The man had short dark hair<\/span> and was wearing a light-coloured top, possibly a sweatshirt, and darker-coloured trousers.<\/p>\n Again, this person has never come forward in the 25 years since Lyn was found.<\/p>\n At the time of her death, Lyn was wearing tortoiseshell glasses but cops couldn't find them during a fingertip search of the crime scene and surrounding area.<\/p>\n Weirdly, the glasses suddenly reappeared on top of the mud in the gateway where her body was found four months later.<\/p>\n DI Smith said: "The reappearance of Lyn's glasses remains a real mystery in this case.<\/p>\n "Why were they put back there? Were they found by somebody and returned to the scene or were they put there by the murderer?"<\/p>\n Devon and Cornwall Police launched Operation Grenadine – one of the force's biggest murder enquiries – following the killing.<\/p>\n They traced 1,600 people to establish their whereabouts, took 7,863 statements, completed 3,144 house-to-house enquiries and traced and eliminated 6,573 vehicles.<\/p>\n Officers also pieced together the movements of all men aged between 14 and 70 who lived in a one-mile radius.<\/p>\n They believe Lyn's killer had a local connection due to the isolated murder location.<\/p>\n Police have since been able to make a partial DNA profile of the suspected killer thanks to advances in technology<\/span>.<\/p>\n They have been re-taking samples from people across the UK who either gave their DNA previously or are on the National DNA Database.<\/p>\n Since October 2016, 224 samples have been re-tested to check them against the DNA profile.<\/p>\n DI Smith said: "Lyn lived in Ruan High Lanes her whole life and was very popular with so many people.<\/p>\n "She was a wife, mother, and grandmother, and loved family life. She would have felt extremely safe in that area and walked for miles each day with her dog around the quiet lanes.<\/p>\n "For her life to be taken in such a brutal and horrific way is extremely sad. Her family have never found peace knowing that the offender remains free – 25 years have gone by but this has not lessened the pain of what happened to her that awful day.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/newspress-collage-24391730-1697194400088.jpg\")
<\/picture>SEARCH FOR ANSWERS <\/span><\/p>\nChilling cold case of missing teen couple could be cracked 50 years on<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/newspress-collage-23448667-1691769651883.jpg\")
<\/picture>PURE EVIL <\/span><\/p>\nHow child killer 'Mr Cruel' snatched kids in Australia's most chilling cold case<\/h3>\n
Most read in The Sun<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/lc-comp-noddy2-191023.jpg\")
<\/picture>SECRET FIGHT <\/span><\/p>\nSlade’s Noddy Holder in five year cancer battle and was given 6 months to live<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/KH_19_10_STORM_BABET_v2_COMP-1.jpg\")
<\/picture>RED ALERT <\/span><\/p>\nEntire town told to evacuate as Storm Babet sparks \u2018danger to life\u2019 red warning<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/newspress-collage-24446385-1697651863286.jpg\")
<\/picture>WIFE STRIFE <\/span><\/p>\nJames Haskell spotted without wedding ring – as wife Chloe takes hers off<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mike-skinner-british-rapper-musician-851378323.jpg\")
<\/picture>candid <\/span><\/p>\nI was one of the UK’s biggest music stars – but I lost thousands ‘betting’<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/1998-attack-believed-sexually-motivated-853322894.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/family-detectives-launched-fresh-appeal-853322908.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/1998-attack-believed-sexually-motivated-853322887.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/1998-attack-believed-sexually-motivated-853322899.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/1998-attack-believed-sexually-motivated-853322886.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/picture-showing-christmas-ham-served-701517079-1.jpg\")
<\/picture>![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/RB-COMP-BB7-2.jpg\")
<\/picture>