Armed Police last night guarded Abbot's Cliff where the bodies of two black males were discovered - but they have yet to be identified as the missing Cooper twins.

Commissioner Jonathan Smith said the “skeletal remains were partially clothed” when they were found on a ledge at mid-day yesterday but he could not say whether they showed signs of violence.

It is exactly one month since Jahmal and Jahmil Cooper went missing.

It's thought the pair were kidnapped and then assaulted at a Devonshire address before being moved just as Police were about to pounce.

Police were tipped off about the whereabouts of the bodies on Tuesday evening by neighbours who were concerned about the smell at the secluded spot in Hamilton Parish.

Police had to use specialist equipment to get to the bodies on a protruding ledge about 20-30 feet above sea level on the remote 60-foot cliff.

The bodies were found in one piece, although one was in an advanced state of decomposition.

Two men have been charged together with causing grievous bodily harm. One of them - 33-year-old Kenneth Jermaine Burgess - lives on a blue house on Cottage Hill Road which is very close to Abbot's Cliff.

Dennis Alma Robinson, 34, of Palm Valley, Southampton has also been charged.

At a Press conference yesterday Mr. Smith refused to speculate on whether the bodies were the Cooper twins until forensic tests have been done.

Dental records, jewellery, clothing and DNA samples are all methods which can be used to identify the bodies which will not be moved until the investigation is complete said Mr. Smith.

Foreign experts may be brought to assist said Mr. Smith who stressed identification would be done as speedily as possible.

Asked about rumours the bodies were tied to a bike Mr. Smith refused to comment but said the area was a well-down bike dumping ground.

“We will take all necessary steps to make sure that scene is not compromised.

“The area of Abbot's cliff is particularly remote and we urge the public that there will be no benefit in trying to see anything down there. There is nothing to see quite frankly.”

Gawkers would be turned away by the large contingent of officers guarding the scene said Mr. Smith. Last month arsonists evaded the two Policemen guarding the home in Devonshire where the pair were believed to have been held and set it ablaze - destroying some of the evidence. The bodies at Abbot's cliff were discovered at around mid-day yesterday and by 2 p.m. there was a huge Police and media presence on Abbot's Cliff Drive.

Police Media Spokesperson Dwayne Caines said “bodies” had been found, but he would not say whether a civilian or Police had made the grisly discovery.

The crime scene was completely sealed as Police blocked both entrances to the path leading to the popular Abbot's Cliff Park.

Shortly afterwards the main entrance to Abbot's Cliff Drive across the street from Francis Patton Primary on North Shore Road was blocked by Police and residents had to show IDs to get home.

A neighbour told The Royal Gazette she did not let her children go down the densely-vegetated trail to Abbot's Cliff, which is bordered by banana patches, because it is so overgrown.

“Two Police Officers were here early this morning,” she said. “They asked me if I smelled any foul smells. But I told them I smelled nothing at all.”

When asked how she felt about having two dead bodies in her neighbourhood, she said, “I don't even know. I am numb right now. It is something no one wants to have in their background.”

Another neighbour said it was scary because she often walked there with her children.

Marine Police had been spotted trawling for bodies in Harrington Sound in recent days.