SPECIALIST search teams were back in the water today as they continued to look for human remains of missing teenager Damien Nettles.

A number of officers from the county’s force support team have spent the past two days carrying out a painstaking search of a 100-metre stretch of marshland in Newport, Isle of Wight, after the 14-year-old investigation took a new twist.

Police revealed on Wednesday how they had arrested five men aged between 37 and 50 on suspicion of murdering Damien, who was 16 years old when he vanished after a night out with friends.

They were all questioned and have been bailed pending further enquiries.

So far the searches have found nothing apart from an old handbag, a mobile phone, a fire extinguisher, old tyres, bike frames and litter.

Damien had gone to a party in West Cowes on the evening of November 2, 1996, but failed to return home.

Despite a large police enquiry and an Island-wide appeal by Damien’s family and friends, nothing has ever been seen or heard of him since.

In 2008 the investigation was reopened and police issued an age-generated picture of how Damien might look aged 27.

This week’s developments have been the first indication that police now believe foul play was involved.

A police spokesman said it was unclear how long it would be before the searches were completed.