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People Who Just Disappear (Go Missing)

Ghost In The Machine said:
…someone was saying they couldn't understand why they were searching at Sand Hutton as the police had had these tip offs back when Claudia disappeared re. the weird man with the spade seen by locals in the woods... and they hadn't acted on it at the time. A new anonymous tip off, am assuming - and yet apparently this wasn't new info..?

Why did they not act on the tip offs given originally but are acting on them now?
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“…Joan said she remembered talk of “strange activity” in woods nearby when Claudia first went missing. She recalled being upset because police had not searched them after several members of the public had told her of seeing suspicious activity.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mum-missing-claudia-lawrence-makes-24830747

“Reports were made of various people behaving strangely in the Heworth area in the days leading up to Lawrence's disappearance. These reports were investigated but without conclusive result.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Claudia_Lawrence#Original_investigation

The amount of information processed in a murder enquiry is mindboggling. Detectives have to consider a lot of factors in prioritising the investigation of tips. Just because an anguished mum considers them to have been important years after the event, doesn’t make them so.

maximus otter
 
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maximus otter said:
“…Joan said she remembered talk of “strange activity” in woods nearby when Claudia first went missing. She recalled being upset because police had not searched them after several members of the public had told her of seeing suspicious activity.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mum-missing-claudia-lawrence-makes-24830747

“Reports were made of various people behaving strangely in the Heworth area in the days leading up to Lawrence's disappearance. These reports were investigated but without conclusive result.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Claudia_Lawrence#Original_investigation

The amount of information processed in a murder enquiry is mindboggling. Detectives have to consider a lot of factors in prioritising the investigation of tips. Just because an anguished mum considers them to have been important years after the event, doesn’t make them so.

maximus otter
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There is frequently 'strange activity' on the outskirts of York, just like any other town it collects its share of oddballs. From 'Strange activity' to 'murder' is quite a leap though, and if you look in retrospect, you would probably find some of MY behaviour odd and unpredictable. Doesn't meant I've murdered or am about to murder someone.

I think it's hard in this case though, because grief does cause a lot of throwing about of random thoughts. Joan always said that 'Claudia told me everything'. Quite clearly she didn't (as is borne out by stories from friends of mine who knew or were at school with, Claudia), but her mum wanted to believe that. So she wanted to believe that Claudia was abducted by some random ne'erdo well, rather than it being someone Claudia was seeing.
 
catseye said:
There is frequently 'strange activity' on the outskirts of York, just like any other town it collects its share of oddballs. From 'Strange activity' to 'murder' is quite a leap though, and if you look in retrospect, you would probably find some of MY behaviour odd and unpredictable. Doesn't meant I've murdered or am about to murder someone.

I think it's hard in this case though, because grief does cause a lot of throwing about of random thoughts. Joan always said that 'Claudia told me everything'. Quite clearly she didn't (as is borne out by stories from friends of mine who knew or were at school with, Claudia), but her mum wanted to believe that. So she wanted to believe that Claudia was abducted by some random ne'erdo well, rather than it being someone Claudia was seeing.
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And of course people hate a vacuum of information these days. So there is always pressure from journalists et al to prise those random thoughts from people and publish them. Mind you, I say recent - probably goes back to Jack the Ripper.
 
catseye said:
There is frequently 'strange activity' on the outskirts of York, just like any other town it collects its share of oddballs. From 'Strange activity' to 'murder' is quite a leap though, and if you look in retrospect, you would probably find some of MY behaviour odd and unpredictable. Doesn't meant I've murdered or am about to murder someone.

I think it's hard in this case though, because grief does cause a lot of throwing about of random thoughts. Joan always said that 'Claudia told me everything'. Quite clearly she didn't (as is borne out by stories from friends of mine who knew or were at school with, Claudia), but her mum wanted to believe that. So she wanted to believe that Claudia was abducted by some random ne'erdo well, rather than it being someone Claudia was seeing.
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Hi Catseye
I lived and worked in York at the time (now just south of you in Howden) and one of my colleagues lived in Heworth. I remember her telling us a few tales. And there was always the pub big mouth telling all and sundry "I know where shes buried" although the general belief was that she was buried somewhere under one of the new University buildings being constructed at the time. I suspect we will never know unless there is a death bed confession.
 
eziofan said:
Hi Catseye
I lived and worked in York at the time (now just south of you in Howden) and one of my colleagues lived in Heworth. I remember her telling us a few tales. And there was always the pub big mouth telling all and sundry "I know where shes buried" although the general belief was that she was buried somewhere under one of the new University buildings being constructed at the time. I suspect we will never know unless there is a death bed confession.
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My son lived in Heworth at the time and knew Claudia vaguely from the pub. From the very cursory search that the police did of his property, and the fact that they didn't interview him (he was early twenties, wore black, smoked and worked VERY strange hours), we all assumed that they already knew who they were looking for. Everyone is of the opinion that they are just needing firm evidence to get a case together.
 
Robbrent said:
It was far easier in the past to get away with murder, people disappeared with some frequency ,
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My great-grandmother's death certificate - which I found many years ago whilst rootling through documents in an old biscuit tin - recorded her death as 'suicide' in the 1930s. However, my sister has doubts about this because our great-grandmother was discovered with her throat cut, and that's incredibly unusual for women who kill themselves (the In-House GP affirms that this is still true). I'm guessing in those days most of them would have put their head in the oven.n. So it's entirely possible someone did get away with murder, even with a body in hand.
 
ramonmercado said:
There would be easier ways to extrafilate him! The Chinese would only get him to swim out to a submarine in a Bond film!
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No need for a submarine at all. Just a boat would do it.
 
The disappearance of Lt Paul Whipkey

By all accounts, 26-year-old US Army Lieutenant Paul Whipkey was a perfect soldier and a model citizen. A R.O.T.C. honors graduate who had gone through Army aviation school to earn his Army pilot’s wings before ending up at Fort Ord, California, he would later be transferred to Camp Desert Rock in Nevada in 1957, where he flew several missions to pilot an observation plane during the tests of the atomic bomb, before returning to Fort Ord where he would remain. Everyone who knew him, including friends, family, and fellow soldiers, described him as an “All-American young man,” a hard worker, and a superior officer, and he was hardly the type that one would expect would become the center of a dark unsolved mystery. Yet, dark days were ahead for Whipkey, and he would become the focus of a bizarre vanishing surrounded by sinister conspiracies, mysterious strangers, weird clues, and other oddities that have never been solved.
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https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2021...and-the-bizarre-vanishing-of-lt-paul-whipkey/
 
Mythopoeika said:
Yeah, I mean it's not like the Chinese would ever do stuff like that.
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What order a submarine to sail into Australian waters and then wait for an Australian Prime Minister to take a dip, spirit him off to a life of Communist luxury never to be heard again?

Happens all the time.

Wouldn't it be a major coup for China? "Look your Prime Minister prefers Communism to BBQs and sunshine!"
 
Naughty_Felid said:
What order a submarine to sail into Australian waters and then wait for an Australian Prime Minister to take a dip, spirit him off to a life of Communist luxury never to be heard again?

Happens all the time.

Wouldn't it be a major coup for China? "Look your Prime Minister prefers Communism to BBQs and sunshine!"
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It was said he did enjoy a sweet & sour pork & fried rice most Friday nights, so who knows?
 
Some that have played on my mind over the years.

Maura Murray. Crashed her car, refused help from a passing bus driver, then disappeared.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Maura_Murray


Lars Mittank, German on holiday in Bulgaria. Got injured in a fight and was unable to fly home. Was acting strangely, seemed paranoid. Last seen running off into the woods near the airport. Possible head/inner ear injury?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Lars_Mittank


Two disapperances from cruise ships: Rebecca Coriam and Amy Lynn Bradley. There have been alleged sightings and even an alleged photograph of Amy over the years. There is a theory that she was kidnapped and made a sex slave. Grim.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Amy_Lynn_Bradley

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Rebecca_Coriam


Johnny Gosch. Disappeared in 1982 when delivering newspapers, presumed kidnapped, possibly by a paedophile ring. His mother claimed he visited her in 1997 and confirmed the paedophile ring story, and said he could never come home again. His mother also received (faked) photographs of 3 boys who looked like they had been kidnapped, in 2006. A desperately sad case. His poor mother.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Johnny_Gosch
 
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Jan Marsalek - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Marsalek

Marsalek is considered one of the main culprits in the Wirecard accounting scandal. The Financial Times reported that Marsalek is a person of interest for a number of European governments due to his alleged links to Russian intelligence.[1] Investigation by Bellingcat, Der Spiegel, and The Insider indicated that Marsalek flew to Minsk hours after he was fired.[2] On 19 July 2020, the German Handelsblatt reported that Marsalek was suspected to be in Russia, where he was suspected to live under supervision of the GRU in a mansion near Moscow.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Marsalek

Marsalek is wanted with an international arrest warrant. He is accused of market manipulation, balance sheet falsification, embezzlement and gang fraud. [1] He is said to have transferred significant sums in the form of Bitcoins from Dubai to Russia. [24] On 18 June 2020, Marsalek was released by Wirecard. On this day, his colleagues also saw him for the last time, then he dived. [25] He was last seen in Vienna, where he met with a former employee of the Austrian Office for the Protection of the Constitution shortly before departing from a private airfield in an Italian restaurant. [15]

According to Der Spiegel, Marsalek first entered Belarus with a false passport. [26] According to the investigative platform Bellingcat, Marsalek flew from Klagenfurt via Tallinn to Minsk on the day of his release from Wirecard in mid-June. Because of the political conflict between Russia and Belarus, however, it was too risky for the Russian military intelligence service GRU to leave Marsalek in the neighboring country. That's why he was brought to Russia. [24] [27] The Handelsblatt reported, citing business, judicial and diplomatic circles, that Marsalek was housed on a property west of Moscow under the supervision of Russian military intelligence. [28]

At first, it had been speculated that Marsalek was in the Philippines. His alleged entry into the Philippines on June 23, 2020 and his departure for China on June 24, 2020 turned out to be fake:[26][29] On July 4, Philippine Justice Minister Menardo Guevarra said Philippine Immigration Officials had falsified Marsalek's data. [25] On 12 August 2020, the public was informed about file number XY ... unsolved asked for help in the search for Marsalek. [30]
 
RE: Richard Morris
Yithian said:
He has been found dead, unfortunately.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-53976713
It may or not be relevant that the forest in which the body was discovered had previously been searched.
Suicide or natural causes, one suspects.
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Update ...

The initial inquest resulted in the cause of death being "unascertained" and the inquest adjourned until June 2021.
Richard Morris: Cause of diplomat's death 'not yet known'

Initial investigations have yet to establish how a diplomat whose body was found in a forest months after going missing died, an inquest has heard. ...

The cause of death following a post-mortem examination on the 52-year-old's body has been recorded as "unascertained", senior coroner Christopher Wilkinson said. ...

During the four-minute remote hearing, Mr Wilkinson confirmed Mr Morris, who lived in Bentley and was originally from Worcestershire, was found dead by a member of the public at Alice Holt Forest in Hampshire on 31 August.

Mr Wilkinson said consultant forensic pathologist Dr Russell Delaney carried out the initial examination on the body, adding: "The nature of his death is at this stage unascertained." ...

The inquest was adjourned until June 2021 for further evidence to be gathered. ...

At the time of the discovery of his body, police said they were not treating the death as suspicious.
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FULL STORY: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-54264439

This apparently updated September 2020 article claims the inquest was delayed past June 2021.
The inquest was adjourned until June 2021 for further evidence to be gathered and this date has been further delayed due to Covid-19.
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SOURCE: https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/richard-morris
 
Every year unidentified bodies show up in the UK the National Missing Persons unit lists them in the hope that someone will recognise them, I've often wondered if they could not feed into the various ancestry DNA databases to at least get a clue
 
This is worrying: a girl of 4 has gone missing from a campsite in Australia.

(Safe Guardian link)
Disappearance of Cleo Smith, four, from family’s tent in Western Australia ‘extremely concerning’

The disappearance of a four-year-old girl from a Western Australian campsite is “extremely concerning” and police say a search has yet to turn up any answers.

Cleo Smith was last seen about 1.30am on Saturday at the Blowholes campsite on the coast at Macleod, north of Carnarvon.

An air, land and sea search resumed on Sunday morning with help from the State Emergency Service and community volunteers. The girl was wearing a pink one-piece sleepsuit with a blue and yellow pattern when she was last seen.

As the search enters its third day, WA police commissioner Chris Dawson said nothing had been ruled out.

Dawson said the environment in the region was very tough and it was a “very unusual situation where we don’t where Cleo is”.
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This strikes a chord with me. As parents know, young children love to get away from adults and go exploring. When my kids were small I felt like a mother hen, constantly checking how many were present.

When I occasionally couldn't account for one, the first feeling of dread was like a lead weight: I could hardly breathe for fear.

Then I'd spot the little monkey crouched behind the sofa stuffing stolen biscuits or up a tree shouting 'Mum! Mum! Look how high I can climb!'
One sneaked off in the Co-Op Superstore and was found by staff covered in yogurt and surrounded by empty cartons. I refused to cover the loss because the staff hadn't stopped him.

Anyway... toddlers can escape from tents and caravans while adults are asleep or busy socialising right next to them.
A child might be put to bed at a normal time, then wake up and go for a wander. They're usually found quite quickly.

A couple of years ago in Cheshire a little boy of only 16 months did this and sadly drowned in a nearby lake.
(Safe Liverpool Echo link)

Baby boy drowned in lake at caravan park after parents woke up to find him missing

It was around 8am on August 22, 2019, when Phillip woke up and realised Corey was not in his bed and one of the caravan doors next to the room where the baby was sleeping was slightly ajar.

Phillip then woke Kimberley up and told her that Corey was not in his bed and the family began frantically searching for him.

The dad said in his statement he asked a woman who was there whether she had seen a baby and she said she had.

Phillip then asked her why she hadn't got the 16-month-old as he was 'just a baby', in which he said she replied 'I don't know'.

Tragically, Phillip found Corey face up in the water near to a jetty and got him out.
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If someone who saw Corey wandering had apprehended him (as I CERTAINLY would have) he'd have been safe.
 
Also in Australia.

"Australian police say it's a "miracle" a pair survived for several days without water after they became lost in the Northern Territory outback.

Mahesh Patrick, 14, and Shaun Emitja, 21, were found separately near Alice Springs on Friday and Saturday.

Both were dehydrated and suffering from exhaustion but were otherwise fine, police said.

Their vehicle had become bogged last Monday while on a four-hour drive through a remote area.

Unable to pull the car out, they stayed with the vehicle overnight before leaving the next morning to search for water."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/58949984
 
Nosmo King said:
Also in Australia.

"Australian police say it's a "miracle" a pair survived for several days without water after they became lost in the Northern Territory outback.

Mahesh Patrick, 14, and Shaun Emitja, 21, were found separately near Alice Springs on Friday and Saturday.

Both were dehydrated and suffering from exhaustion but were otherwise fine, police said.

Their vehicle had become bogged last Monday while on a four-hour drive through a remote area.

Unable to pull the car out, they stayed with the vehicle overnight before leaving the next morning to search for water."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/58949984
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This is the usual advice for lost travellers -

Authorities advise people to stay with their cars if they become stranded in the outback - as it offers some shelter and protection from the elements and is a larger target for search helicopters to find.
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Makes sense, though I can remember someone who died next to his vehicle/light plane (can't remember) in South America only 100 yards from the PanAmerican Highway. He'd survived a crash, taken the advice and succumbed while waiting for rescue.
 
Cleo Smith's disappearance is looking even worse -

(Safe Australian news site)
Police release aerial footage of campsite as Cleo Smith’s dad is interviewed by police


Cleo was last seen about 1.30am on Saturday at the Blowholes Campground in Macleod, about 50km north of Carnarvon in Western Australia’s north.

Her parents woke up a few hours later at 6am and realised she was gone, and set about raising the alarm with other campers before contacting police.

Her sleeping bag had also disappeared, and other campers in the area reportedly heard a car screeching away from the area about 3am.
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There's also the possibility that she went towards the sea and was swept away although she probably wouldn't take her sleeping bag.

Adjacent to the campsite is a white sandy beach and coral-filled lagoon, which is popular among families for snorkelling and picnics.

While picturesque, the area can also be deadly, with ‘king waves’ – powerful, unexpected waves up to 10 times bigger than the waves before them that come without warning, a frequent occurrence.
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:(
 
escargot said:
Cleo Smith's disappearance is looking even worse -

(Safe Australian news site)
Police release aerial footage of campsite as Cleo Smith’s dad is interviewed by police




There's also the possibility that she went towards the sea and was swept away although she probably wouldn't take her sleeping bag.



:(
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UPDATE

Australian police have offered a A$1 million reward amid fears Cloe Smith was abducted.

"Australian authorities are offering a A$1m ($750,000; £540,000) reward for information on the whereabouts of a four-year-old girl they fear may have been abducted from a remote campsite.

Cleo Smith was last seen sleeping in her family's tent at the Quobba Blowholes coastal camp in Western Australia early on Saturday morning.

Her mother said she discovered the tent open later that morning and the girl missing, along with her sleeping bag.

Teams are searching by air and sea.

"Someone in our community knows what happened to Cleo," Western Australia Police commissioner Col Blanch told a news conference on Thursday."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-58946569
 
Child abduction by strangers is vanishingly rare. My money says that she just wandered off with her “blankie”.

maximus otter
 
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Nosmo King said:
Her mother said she discovered the tent open later that morning and the girl missing, along with her sleeping bag.
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That's what makes it look like an abduction. If someone were determined enough to get into a tent and identify which sleeping bag had a child in, carrying the kid off in the sleeping bag would be easier than, say, enticing her away in the daytime.

However, weren't adults also present? You'd think they'd wake up even if the child didn't.
 
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