A cold case spanning more than half a century has finally been closed.
Sheila Fox was just 16 years old when she mysteriously vanished from Coventry city centre in England in 1972.
Back then, there were suspicions that she had been in a relationship with an older man, but nothing was confirmed as she’d still been living with her family.
Highlights
- Sheila Fox was found alive and well 52 years after disappearing in 1972.
- She was discovered living safely in southern England.
- An old blurry photo led the public to rally together and help the police in locating her.
- West Midlands Police has now officially closed one of their longest cases.
As 2024 closed off on December 29, 52 years after her initial disappearance, West Midlands police released a photo of her — which led authorities to finally locate the now 68-year-old, according to Daily Mail.
A missing woman who disappeared in the 1970s was found alive again after 52 years
Image credits: West Midlands Police
For a long time, Sheila’s parents had held on to the hope that she had moved out of town and didn’t tell anyone, keeping an“open mind” on what may have happened to her.
Those efforts did not go to waste.
“We are delighted to announce the conclusion of one of West Midlands Police’s longest-running missing person investigations,” said a spokesman as the news was confirmed this morning. “We recently published a renewed appeal to help find Sheila Fox, who went missing from Coventry in 1972.”
Image credits: cottonbro studio/Pexels (Not the actual photo)
According to the statement, the key photo from around the time she disappeared was uncovered and distributed on their website and social media platforms.
The public quickly got involved and provided groundbreaking information, which led police to confirm that Sheila had, indeed, just been living in the south of England and was “safe and well,” as reported by Daily Express.
“We searched through every piece of evidence we could find and managed to locate a photo of Sheila,” Detective Sergeant Jenna Shaw, from the force’s Cold Case Investigation Team, added.
Image credits: West Midlands Police Careers
She acknowledged the work of DC Shaun Reeve, who was able to resolve this mystery with help from the public.
“Missing people can be from all ages and backgrounds, often with vastly differing reasons for going missing,” the statement concluded.
“With advances in forensics and technology, the team is able to pursue leads which weren’t necessarily available at the time these cases were first reported.”
Sheila Fox was found "safe and well" living in the south of England
Image credits: Anete Lusina/Pexels (Not the actual photo)
The UK is no stranger to cases of missing people but Sheila’s disappearance falls into the 2% of disappearances that last longer than one week.
Missing People states that, on average, someone is reported missing to authorities every 90 seconds. That equates to roughly 170,000 people reported within a year.
Among these numbers, nearly 96,000 are adults and almost 75,000 are children.
Image credits: cottonbro studio/Pexels (Not the actual photo)
While it has not yet been disclosed the exact reason Sheila decided to start a life somewhere else, the website gives four possible reasons on why children and young adults, in general, tend to disappear.
Conflict, abuse, and neglect at home is a primary factor with over half of missing children claiming to have experienced this, with one in five feeling the urge to leave.
Image credits: cottonbro studio/Pexels (Not the actual photo)
Other alarming reasons include trafficking, where 10% of those who completed return home interviews were victims of criminal exploitation, and mental health issues, where topics of self harm and suicide arose.
There are four main reasons why missing children and adults may run away
Image credits: cottonbro studio/Pexels (Not the actual photo)
Statistics are less concrete when it comes to adults as research is still being conducted. But a few common factors of those who go missing are diagnosed or undiagnosed mental health issues, where a whopping 80% of missing adults fall into this category, relationship breakdowns, and dementia.
Escaping violence and financial problems were also cited.
Readers weren't huge fans of Sheila's decision to disappear without telling any of her loved ones
