A CORONER has recorded an open verdict in the case of a woman whose body was found in woodland two years after she disappeared.

Whitstable teaching assistant Marion Arnold went missing from her home in Vale Road in October 2004, aged 54.

Coroner Rebecca Cobb said she was satisfied human remains and clothing found in Clowes Wood at Chestfield in December last year were Mrs Arnold’s.

Forensic tests also revealed no signs of a violent death.

The court heard from Mrs Arnold’s brother, Trevor Jeffries, from Graveney, near Faversham.

He said his sister, a keen walker, had become increasingly "distressed" with a neurological condition – dystonia – diagnosed only weeks before she went missing.

Mr Jeffries said: "She told me, as far as she was concerned, it was the end of her life because she could not work, drive or do physical activity.

"She indicated her life was finished.

"I tried to tell her that it was not the end of her life but she told me I was clutching at straws."

He said she had never discussed suicide with him.

The court heard that motorist George Smith made the last reported sighting of Mrs Arnold when he was forced to make an emergency stop in Castle Road to avoid a woman matching her description.

That was one week after she was reported missing. In a statement he said: "She stepped out in front of me as if in a trance.

"Later, I saw Mrs Arnold’s face on the news and I was convinced it was the same woman."

The coroner also read a statement from Andrew Riches, who found a human skull and two shoes in Clowes Wood while shooting pigeons.

His discovery prompted a forensic search of a 50-yard radius leading to more than a dozen other bones, teeth, clothing fibres and a carrier bag containing plasters, a hot-water bottle, tin-opener, blister packs and a zipper jacket with belt.

DNA tests carried out by Dr James Walker in February this year on one bone and Mrs Arnold’s toothbrush confirmed the bones were hers.

Mrs Arnold’s husband Graham, was found dead in woods close to Tyler Hill in May 2005.

He had left a note in a bag saying: "I cannot stand it any more. I miss Marion so much."

A coroner recorded a verdict of suicide at his inquest in July 2005.

Police have never found any evidence that he was involved in his wife’s disappearance.

The couple have a 19-year-old son, Thomas.

Ms Cobb told family members: "I have no option but to record an open verdict."