Detectives investigating the murder of community officer Julia James are "not 100 per cent sure" what murder weapon was used, police said.
Kent Police's chief constable Alan Pughsley also said detectives still had no motive or suspect in the case.
Ms James, 53, was found on 27 April near woodland in Snowdown, Kent, having suffered serious head injuries.
Mr Pughsley said other forces were helping in the inquiry, and he appealed to the killer to give themselves up.
He said detectives were not able to say if the attacker was a man or a woman.
Kent Police
Ms James left her home in The Crescent just after 15:00 BST on 27 April to take her dog for a walk in nearby woodland.
Speaking to BBC Radio Kent, Mr Pughsley said: "At this time we are not 100 per cent sure with regard to what weapon was used to kill Julia.
"Pretty much every chief constable in the land is offering whatever assistance they can to help find the murderer.
"We have lots of lines of inquiries, lots to think about, and lots of work to do.
"We need just to get that little bit of luck, little bit of public information and little bit of forensic examination to come back to identify this individual, so we can capture him or her - we don't even know that yet."
Kent Police
A post-mortem examination found Ms James died from blunt force trauma and an inquest has been opened and adjourned.
A £10,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to a conviction in the case.
Mr Pughsley said he was convinced information from the public, together with forensic evidence would help solve the murder.
Speaking directly to the killer, he said; "They know their time will come, we will not rest in anyway shape or form.
"I'm absolutely certain, [we will] find you, and I hope that is in the very near future.
"You will never ever get away with this. You have to keep looking over your shoulder and at some stage we will be there to get you."
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Voting in the Scottish Parliament election has ended but Scotland has an 11-hour wait for counting of the ballots to begin.
The usual overnight count was postponed because of Covid restrictions.
Instead, counting will start at 09:00 on Friday, with the final result expected on Saturday.
A record number of people had already cast their ballots before polls opened - with more than a million having registered to vote by post.
The election is seen as being crucial to the future of the UK as the result could impact on whether or not there is a second referendum on Scottish independence.
But it will also decide who forms the next Scottish government, which has considerable powers over areas such as health, education and income tax.
The Electoral Management Board expects 48 of the 73 constituencies to be declared on Friday, including both the most marginal and safest seats from 2016, and eight of the SNP's top 10 target seats.
These include the Labour defences of Dumbarton, Edinburgh Southern and East Lothian, none of which have a majority exceeding 3%, and the Conservative seats in Ayr, Edinburgh Central, Dumfriesshire and Eastwood.
BBC Scotland editor Sarah Smith said: "Opinion polls seem to show Nicola Sturgeon will have another term as First Minister, the question is more what size of majority she will have."
SCOTLAND'S ELECTION: THE BASICS
What's happening? On 6 May, people across Scotland voted to elect 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The party that wins the most seats will form the government. Find out more here.
What powers do they have? MSPs pass laws on aspects of life in Scotland such as health, education and transport - and have some powers over tax and welfare benefits.
Scotland's party leaders all turned out at polling stations on Thursday.
Scottish Labour's Anas Sarwar and Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie cast their votes in Glasgow.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross was at Alves Hall in Moray, while Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie - who had also voted by post - was at Strathpeffer Community Centre near Dingwall.
The SNP leader was praised on social media for how she handled an approach from former deputy leader of Britain First Jayda Fransen, who accused Ms Sturgeon of "flooding" the country with immigrants.
Footage posted online showed her calling Ms Fransen "a fascist and a racist".
EPA
Voting in this election was impacted by the pandemic, with voters expected to follow social distancing rules, wear face coverings and use hand sanitiser at the polling stations. Special measures were put in place to allow people who tested positive for Covid-19 or were self-isolating to apply for a proxy vote on the day.
At some polling stations people were still queuing to vote at 22:00. People already waiting in line were allowed to vote after the official closing time.
Two voters in Glasgow North West said they were temporarily turned away from a polling station because ballot boxes were "too full".
Nadeem and Joanna Basharat went to vote at Jordanhill Parish Church polling station at 20:30, but were told to come back later because ballot box 52 was too full.
When they went back to vote, they said the box still looked very full and the papers inside had just been "pushed down".
A spokesman for Glasgow's Returning Officer said: "The sheer size of the regional paper meant some ballot boxes became full. We were able to deliver replacement boxes, but in this case some voters were asked to wait outside before voting.
"The presiding officer is confident that all voters who were asked to wait were ultimately able to vote."
PA Media
There have been no exit polls, and none of the parties have made predictions about the result of the election.
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg tweeted that the SNP were "confident they'll get overall majority for Indy ref but not sure they'll hit magic 65".
Nick Eardley, a BBC political correspondent, said the Tories thought their campaign focus on the regional list was "bearing fruit".
With big health warning again, SNP think their vote more like 2019 (good) than 2017 (not as good). But electoral system is complicated.
Tories confident their regional list focus is bearing fruit.
Chat of tactical unionist voting in constituencies, but we’ll see in 48 hours. https://t.co/n1CB9QooWF
Several party leaders did take to social media after the polls closed to thank their supporters for their help during the election campaign.
Ms Sturgeon said the SNP campaign teams had been "awesome" and added: "Seeing long queues of people at polling stations was a very special sight - regardless of voting intention."
Mr Sarwar said on Twitter he was "so proud" of Scottish Labour's "positive and forward looking campaign".
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Mr Rennie thanked his party's members for their energetic and positive campaign. He said they were waiting "on tenterhooks for results to come in", but noted "how special it is to live in a country where parties can compete freely and fairly for the public's vote".
Mr Harvie said the Scottish Greens supporters had been part of their "best campaign ever".
Anyone living in Scotland and registered to vote was eligible, so long as they were aged 16 or over on the day of the election and had not been legally excluded from voting (for example because they were serving a prison sentence of longer than 12 months).
People had two votes - one for a constituency MSP and another for a regional ballot.
There are 73 Constituency MSPs, each elected on a first-past-the-post system similar to the UK general election - the winner is the candidate who receives the most votes in each constituency.
In the regional ballot, people vote for a party. The parties are then allocated a number of MSPs depending on how many votes they receive - once the number of constituencies already won in that region is taken into account - to make the overall result more proportional.
There are eight electoral regions, each with seven regional MSPs. This means that people in Scotland are each represented by eight MSPs - one representing their constituency and the other seven representing their region.
The Scottish government is formed from the party that hold the most seats in the parliament, or alternatively a coalition of more than one party.
Other elections also took place across the UK on Thursday, including for the Welsh Parliament.
There were also elections for seats on 143 English councils and for 13 local mayors, as well as a by-election for the Westminster seat of Hartlepool in the north east of England.
About 48 million people across the UK were eligible to take part in the elections - many of them postponed from last year because of the pandemic.
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Thursday morning. We'll have another update for you this evening.
1. Polls open for bumper set of elections
Polls have opened on what is the Britain's biggest voting day since the 2019 general election. Many of the elections - on what has been dubbed "Super Thursday" - were due to be held last year but the pandemic forced their delay, meaning that more than usual are taking place this time. Elections for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd, and 143 councils and 13 mayors in England are happening. A Westminster by-election is also taking place in Hartlepool.
2. US backs waiver on vaccine patents to boost supply
The US has thrown its support behind an initiative at the World Trade Organization to waive intellectual property protections for coronavirus vaccines. India and South Africa put forward the proposal to set aside patents on vaccines six months ago, arguing it would increase production around the world. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said "extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures". But pharmaceutical companies insist patents are not the primary obstacle, and cautioned that the move could stifle innovation.
Reuters
3. No full-time return to the office for over a million
Almost all of 50 of the UK's biggest employers questioned by the BBC have said they do not plan to bring staff back to the office full-time. Some 43 of the firms said they would embrace a mix of home and office working, with staff encouraged to work from home two to three days a week. Four firms said they were keeping the idea of hybrid working, working from home some of the time, under review. Currently, people who can work from home are still advised to do so.
4. 'We need to care for patients, but also ourselves'
As the pandemic starts to ease, Dr Dan Gearon and many other doctors across the country are voicing the need to have better mental health services for medics. He created the charity, You Okay, Doc? after his cousin Liz, who was an anaesthetist at King's College London, took her own life in 2016.
5. 'We are desperate to go travelling again'
Like many people, Chloe Dickenson's travel plans ground to a halt last year when the world was thrown into lockdown. A so-called "digital nomad", the 22-year-old was living and working from her laptop overseas. With improved wi-fi and flexible workspaces across the globe, digital nomadism has boomed over recent years. And while the global travel restrictions have temporarily grounded many such nomads, longer term the movement is expected to grow much further. Read more here.
Hand sanitiser, plastic screens and one-way systems are some of the things you can expect at polling stations today. Things are a bit different this year so find out what it will be like when you go to vote - try to remember to take a pen or pencil for hygiene reasons (some should be available in the polling station, for anyone who forgets).
Find further information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.
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The UK is sending two Royal Navy ships to Jersey "as a precaution" after threats of a French blockade of the island's main port over a post-Brexit fishing row.
Downing Street confirmed Boris Johnson spoke to Chief Minister of Jersey Senator John Le Fondre on Wednesday evening "about the prospect of a blockade of Saint Helier" - the island's main town.
"The prime minister and chief minister stressed the urgent need for a de-escalation in tensions and for dialogue between Jersey and France on fishing access," a Downing Street spokesman said.
"The prime minister underlined his unwavering support for Jersey. He said that any blockade would be completely unjustified. As a precautionary measure the UK will be sending two offshore patrol vessels to monitor the situation.
"They agreed the UK and Jersey governments would continue to work closely on this issue."
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Image:HMS Severn (in pic) and HMS Tamar are being sent to Jersey
Image:HMS Tamar is a new Royal Navy patrol ship. Pic: MoD
A Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed HMS Severn, described as being able to mount fishing vessels for inspection, and HMS Tamar, one of the Navy's newest warships, were being deployed to Jersey "to conduct maritime security patrols".
"This is a strictly precautionary measure and has been agreed with the Jersey Government," he added.
More on Brexit
France earlier threatened to cut the island's electricity off and French fishermen threatened to blockade the main port of St Helier to prevent supplies from being delivered.
Up to 100 French fishing boats are due to enter the harbour on Thursday at 6am to prevent the Commodore Clipper, carrying cargo, from docking in Jersey, according to local paper the Bailiwick Express.
French officials also said they will be closing their Channel Islands' offices and will stop importing Jersey products into France.
Grateful to Prime Minister @BorisJohnson for speaking with @Ian_Gorst and me this evening, and offering his wholehearted support in de-escalating the tensions between Jersey and our French neighbours over fishing access.
France accused the UK of using red tape to limit fishing around Jersey, in breach of the Brexit agreement made with the EU last year, and said it is "ready to use these retaliation measures".
"With regards to Jersey, I would remind you, for example, of electricity transmission by underwater cable. So, we have the means," French maritime minister Annick Girardin said.
Image:French fishermen have threatened to blockade the port of St Helier
The UK's environment and food secretary George Eustice said the row was about 17 French fishing vessels that have failed to provide the data needed for Jersey to grant them a licence to fish in its waters.
Ms Girardin said the authorisation of 41 boats to fish in Jersey waters had been accompanied by new demands "which were not arranged or discussed, and which we were not notified about".
The demands set out where ships could and could not go, how long fishermen can spend at sea, and what machinery they can use, she added.
Image:George Eustice said 40 vessels have been given licences already - but France said they have come with conditions
Mr Eustice said the UK has been asking the European Commission for the data needed to complete the licence applications and will issue them "as soon as they have provided that data".
"I think the threat that was made is completely disproportionate and unacceptable," he said.
"We are working through the agreement, Jersey have already licensed over 40 vessels, they've been very pragmatic throughout this.
"They've also been clear that they'll process the remaining 17 or so as soon as they put forward the data, so I think it's unacceptable to make those sorts of comments."
Mr Eustice said "a small number" of French authorities or individual French fishermen have been "difficult to identify" and get the data from but Jersey has issued temporary licences as vessels gather the data.
Analysis: Downing Street is sending a strong message to France
By Alistair Bunkall, defence correspondent
Protecting UK fishing waters is one of the Royal Navy's oldest tasks, but Downing Street's decision to send two warships to the Channel Islands is a deliberate posture after France's initial threat to cut off electricity to the islands.
HMS Tamar and HMS Severn are OPVs - Offshore Patrol Vessels. Despite the rather lowkey name, they are sophisticated ships, especially Tamar which only entered service in 2020 and is equipped with the latest radar, sonar and weaponry technology.
The Royal Navy provides its ships to the UK government (Defra) for a set number of days each year to assist in patrols of waters around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The devolved Scottish government has its own fleet.
The UK's Exclusive Economic Zone is the fifth largest in the world, extending 200 miles from the coast. The Royal Navy's role in UK waters is to prevent overfishing by foreign vessels and to enforce quotas. This has long been controversial but Brexit has made it more so.
Sending OPVs to Channel Island waters is, in itself, not controversial, but people I spoke to in the MoD and Royal Navy were not made aware of the announcement until late on. Fisheries post-Brexit were always going to be controversial, but it seems Downing Street is puffing out its chest and sending a strong message to Paris.
The Conservatives are increasingly confident that they will pull off a “hat-trick” of election victories in Hartlepool, Teesside and the West Midlands tomorrow.
Buoyed by the success of the vaccination rollout, Tory MPs and activists are bullish about their chances of winning all three elections after maintaining a healthy poll lead.
They believe they are on course to win the by-election in Hartlepool, a constituency that has elected Labour MPs since its creation, and retain the West Midlands and Tees Valley mayoralties, both of which they won by narrow margins under Theresa May in 2017.
Asked whether his party would pull off a hat-trick, Boris Johnson said today: “I think Andy Street has done an outstanding job in the West Midlands, I think Ben
The Indian delegation in the UK for this week's G7 meeting is self-isolating after two positive COVID tests among them, Sky News understands.
Although it is not a G7 member, India was among other countries invited to attend the first in-person meeting of the group's foreign ministers in more than two years in London this week.
Image:G7 foreign ministers met for 'COVID-secure talks' in London
The meeting was described as "COVID-secure talks" ahead of this June's full G7 summit in Cornwall.
Asked whether it had been a mistake to hold the G7 meeting in person, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday morning: "I think it's very important to try to continue as much business as you can as a government.
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"We have a very important relationship with India, with our G7 partners. As I understand it, what's happened is the individuals concerned they're all isolating now.
"I will be seeing the Indian foreign minister later on this afternoon but that will be a Zoom exchange."
It is understood the two Indian delegation members were found to be COVID positive on Tuesday from PCR tests as part of Public Health England's testing programme.
Was made aware yesterday evening of exposure to possible Covid positive cases. As a measure of abundant caution and also out of consideration for others, I decided to conduct my engagements in the virtual mode. That will be the case with the G7 Meeting today as well.
Although the India delegation has yet to attend G7 meetings at London's Lancaster House, where some talks were held on Tuesday, they had been due to do so on Wednesday.
They will now take part in those meetings virtually.
However, Indian ministers and officials did have some other meetings in advance of their planned attendance at the Lancaster House talks.
Home Secretary Priti Patel met with India's foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday as the pair signed a new UK-India migration agreement.
Sky News understands because Dr Jaishankar has not tested positive, Ms Patel will not be self-isolating.
Dr Jaishankar posted on Twitter: "Was made aware yesterday evening of exposure to possible Covid positive cases.
"As a measure of abundant caution and also out of consideration for others, I decided to conduct my engagements in the virtual mode.
"That will be the case with the G7 Meeting today as well."
Dr Jaishankar had also met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday.
Image:Dr Jaishankar met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week
As mask-wearing and social distancing was observed during the India delegation's in-person meetings this week, it is understood Public Health England do not see a need for the delegation's contacts to also self-isolate.
A senior UK diplomat said: "We deeply regret that Dr Jaishankar will be unable to attend the meeting today in person but will now attend virtually, but this is exactly why we have put in place strict COVID protocols and daily testing."
The India delegation were given diplomatic exemptions to the UK's quarantine rules on their arrival to the UK, although a daily testing regime is in place.
All other G7 attendees will continue to be tested daily and strict social distancing protocols will remain in place.
Image:Ms Patel and Dr Jaishankar signed a new immigration deal Pic: Tim Hammond/Downing St
On Wednesday morning, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said he was unaware of reports of G7 delegates self-isolating following a COVID scare.
Asked on Sky News whether he knew how many were self-isolating, he said: "I don't I'm afraid, but obviously Public Health England and the team that are organising G7 take this very seriously.
"We continue to have one of the most robust set of protocols around testing and so we will make sure that happens, but I don't know the numbers."
Image:Screens were part of the COVID protocols at the G7 meeting on Tuesday
He added: "This is news to me... I can't really comment."
The India delegation travelled to London amid a recent surge in COVID cases in their home country, which has led to a scramble for oxygen and other medical supplies in India's hospitals.
The UK has been among international donors of supplies, with British aid including a shipment of ventilators.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the positive cases among the India delegation in London raised questions about "how this happened".
Speaking on a local election campaign visit in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, on Wednesday, Sir Keir said: "My thoughts are with those that have been affected by this and those that may be affected by this.
"I do think we need to ask questions about how this happened, if only to make sure that it's not repeated.
"It is a reminder of how vigilant we need to be about our borders - we've been challenging the government on this for some months.
"Let's get to the bottom of how this happened, we cannot have a repeat.
"My thoughts are with those affected. More broadly, obviously, my thoughts are with all those in India who are suffering.
"We've all seen those images and we must all do whatever we can to help the Indian people in their hour of need."
