THE families involved in a mortuary mix-up will get answers, the officer in charge of a criminal investigation has vowed.

Detective Superintendent Richard Fewkes is already a few months into the inquiry by South Yorkshire Police to determine if there was misconduct of public office.

However, the senior officer says there is still some way to go to uncover the circumstances which led to the mistake.

The investigation was launched after Christopher's body was discovered in Hull's mortuary, 11 years after his family believed they had laid him to rest in 2000.

It is thought Grace Kamara's body was buried in his place.

Overnight, the exhumation of the grave in Northern Cemetery, where Christopher was supposed to have been buried, took place.

Supt Fewkes said: "We are not dragging our heels but it has to be as thorough as possible.

"The family and friends involved need answers.

"It's important we bring to justice anyone who has committed a criminal act.

"As part of that, we are putting together a very detailed picture of what has happened."

The detective leading the investigation is confident he will get to the bottom of what went wrong.

"It's too early to judge or to say whether anyone will be charged," said Supt Fewkes. "There is a long way to go.

"I believe, regardless of any criminal proceedings, I will provide everyone with some answers as to exactly what happened."

The results of the examination of the body exhumed from the grave are expected to be completed today, with family and friends informed of the results.

Supt Fewkes said: "The exhumation is a key milestone in the inquiry.

"The importance to us is to establish the identity of the remains that lie in the grave that everyone believed was Christopher Alder.

"If it proves to be Grace Kamara, the circumstances which we all believe to have taken place will have been confirmed.

"It all points towards the high likelihood that we have exhumed Grace Kamara.

"My investigation is open minded and, to that extent, we have contingencies in place should it not be her.

"But that's a bridge we'll have to cross at the appropriate time."

Supt Fewkes admits the unusual nature of the case has been challenging and resources have been ploughed into the investigation.

He said: "The circumstances are very tragic and unique.

"For this reason, the investigation will need to be detailed and very thorough and we will leave no stone unturned.

"That's why the investigation has taken longer than many anticipated."

He said the investigation could still take "a few months more".

"There are no time scales or any set dates," he said.

"The time scales are dictated by the amount of work we have to get through to establish the facts of what has taken place."

Not only is the case unusual, but the inquiry covers a period stretching more than a decade.

Supt Fewkes said: "We are looking at circumstances that span 13 years.

"As such, trying to establish what happened and when isn't straight forward.

"Investigating something from a historical context is always much more difficult.

"We have about 20 staff employed in different roles and we also have brought in a range of experts at different points in the investigation."

Grace's family and friends should find out later today the results of the examination.

Supt Fewkes said: "I am confident that, by the close of the examination today, we will have identified whether the body is that of Grace.

"We will then understand clearly the circumstances that everything we thought had happened has done so and we can forge ahead with the investigation, working through significant amounts of information and speaking to further witnesses.

"So far, we have spoken to about 100 witnesses and we have more to interview."

The mix-up was discovered after family and friends of Mrs Kamara flew in from Africa for her funeral in November and asked to see the body.

The body of Christopher, who died in police custody in 1998, was buried in an undisclosed location in Hull during a low-key funeral earlier this month.

Both the families of Mr Alder and Mrs Kamara have accused Hull City Council of lying to them.

Despite the huge embarrassment, Hull City Council has been working with the families to ensure they get answers.

Corporate director for neighbourhoods and families Trish Dalby said: "From the moment we were made aware of this, our first thoughts have been for the families.

"Grace's family is in Nigeria, but there is a representative here in Christine Omoregie.

"Much of the work has been done by the family liaison officers at South Yorkshire Police.

"It was important to have a main focus for the families by providing family liaison officers rather than speaking to lots of different people. We have tried to be empathetic and understand their distress.

"We have tried to give them as much information as possible and keep them informed."

The council will now work on amending the licence governing the exhumation to allow Grace to remain in the plot she has been in for 11 years.

Mrs Dalby said: "We are talking to Christine Omoregie and family members in Nigeria.

"We will also talk to Janet Alder who owns the plot and see if the wishes of both families can be accommodated.

"If they all agree to it then we will do our utmost to achieve that and speak to the Ministry of Justice to enable that to happen."