COLLEAGUES of a Hampshire woman whose body lay undiscovered in her own home for three weeks are demanding to know why police failed to properly search her house on the day she was reported missing. The manager of the charity shop where Jean O'Sullivan worked says uniformed officers who conducted an initial hunt through her Eastleigh property told her they were not looking forward to going inside because of the mess. They failed to spot the 58-year-old widow's body in a downstairs room, but left a note apologising for breaking in and telling her not to worry about her pet dog Gizmo, who they took away with them. Last night Hampshire police said it had launched an internal inquiry into the investigation. Neighbours say officers were often seen around Mrs O'Sullivan's house in Falcon Square, Eastleigh, during the three-week hunt for her, which included repeated land and air searches. It was not until a second search of the home that her body was discovered. It took specialist officers more than half an hour to find Mrs O'Sullivan because she was hidden by a pile of clothes. Jasmine Bills, manager of Eastleigh's Help The Aged shop, where Mrs O'Sullivan had been deputy for three years, said her colleagues were outraged it took so long to find her. "It's disgusting. She should have been found at the time she was reported missing," she told the Daily Echo. "I talked to two officers before that first search and they didn't want to do it because of the state of the place. "They were at the end of their eight-hour shift, and it was getting dark. "We would have gone in there ourselves if they'd let us. "It was very cluttered in there. Jean found comfort in shopping but never put it away. We all offered to help, but she was a proud lady." Officers were alerted to Mrs O'Sullivan's disappearance by neighbours. "They should have pulled the place apart if it meant finding her," added Mrs Bills. "Nothing's going to bring Jean back, but there should be an inquiry to stop this happening again and causing the same heartache to friends and families of other people." Statement Mrs O'Sullivan was the second eldest of five siblings. Hampshire police last night issued a statement from her family, who said they understood the initial search would have been difficult to perform because of piles of clothing around the house. "The police told us there was no obvious sighting of Jean and kept us fully informed at all stages of the inquiry, including the fact that they would conduct wider searches, which we were happy with," they said. "We are satisfied with the way in which the police have dealt with the whole enquiry." Hampshire police's Supt Barry Talbot said all standard procedures had been followed during the investigation. "We are now reviewing procedures to ensure that initial searches are conducted more thoroughly," he added.