Police have a "strong suspect" for the abduction, rape and murder of Eastleigh student, Hannah Foster - but they are still asking the public for help.

Officers believe the suspect left for India two days after Hannah's body was found and they are liaising with their counterparts there.

"The individual will not be named at present but officers believe that he left the country on March 18th," said a spokesman.

For much of the Operation Springfield inquiry into the murder of the 17-year-old, officers have appealed for information about "an Asian man or men" known to have approached Hannah near her home in Grosvenor Road, Portswood, Southampton, in the weeks prior to her murder.

Detectives are working with Interpol, immigration services and airports to locate the man and return him to the UK.

Officers at the incident room at Hulse Road, Southampton, are preparing a file for the Crown Prosecution Service, who will deal with extradition procedure.

This week was the first time police had said Hannah had been raped: a spokesman explained that there had been no physical evidence and it had only been revealed by DNA analysis.

Police want to hear from anyone who has found an earring which was missing when Hannah's body was found in Allington Lane, between West End and Fair Oak.

The Barton Peveril College student was wearing the blue beaded earrings on the night of Friday, March14th, when she was abducted.

Detective Inspector Tony Adams said: "We would like to hear from anyone who has seen such an earring or found one discarded anywhere in the Southampton area or in Portsmouth, where Hannah's handbag was recovered. We are asking dog-walkers, joggers, pedestrians - everyone - to keep an eye out for this item and call us if they think they have seen it."

Police last week searched a house in the Swaythling area of Southampton, less than a mile from the junction of Portswood Road and Highfield Lane, where Hannah was last seen as she waved off her friend on the Solent Blue Line bus.

A detailed search has also been made of industrial premises in Empress Way in Bevois Valley, a few hundred yards away.

Ring the incident room on 0845-0454545 if you think you can help the police.