'I'm a cold case detective and this 40 year unsolved missing woman mystery haunts me to this day'
Detectives are struggling to come to terms with a ‘haunting’ missing persons case from 1986.
Real estate agent Suzy Lamplugh was last seen leaving the office of Sturgis and Sons in Fulham, west London on July 28 1986.
The 25-year-old left the building at around 12.30pm and her company car, a white Ford Fiesta, was found abandoned in nearby Stevenage Road.
Metropolitan Police say that Lamplugh had an appointment booked in with ‘Mr Kipper’ at a property in Shorrolds Road in her work diary on the day she went missing.
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The main suspect, John Cannan, died in prison in 2024. Although police believed he could have been responsible, there was never enough evidence to charge him with a murder crime.
DNA testing and fingerprint analysis from her car have also failed to produce any clear results.
'It haunts us'
“It haunts myself as the senior investigating officer, and I think that comes down to the fact that Suzy’s never been found,” head of the Metropolitan Police cold case homicide squad Detective Chief Inspector Teresa Foster said.
“With a lot of our cases we do have an answer for the family, we know where they were, we know what happened to them.
“But with this, Suzy never being found, and it haunts us. We don’t have a case like this within my team.”
The investigation, one of the UK’s biggest missing persons cases at the time, will move into an ‘inactive phase’ next year.
What does an ‘inactive phase’ mean?
This means police will no longer work on it every day but will still investigate any new information.
“Bringing somebody to justice is always going to be difficult when it’s 40 years (on),” Foster added.
“We will rely on forensics, but for us, the most important thing is finding Suzy and bringing Suzy home.
“I’m quite excited about what’s happening in the artificial intelligence world.
“It could change any murder investigation, but most especially a cold case with all the documents that we have.
“But also change of allegiance, family members coming forward, even after 40 years.
“We’ve seen this recently with two cases that the Met has prosecuted, and it’s family members coming forward, just giving us the information that we need.”
She was 'a truly beautiful person'
Following her disappearance, Suzy’s parents founded the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a charity that promotes personal safety and works to prevent violence.
Her siblings Lizzie, Tamsin and Richard said: “She was, as she is always portrayed, a truly beautiful person inside and out.
“Everyone who met Suz (correct) was touched by her kindness, empathy, strength of character and joy for life.
“Within months of her disappearance, our parents founded the Suzy Lamplugh Trust with a vision to help create a world where everyone can live free from violence, aggression and fear.
“We are incredibly proud of the trust’s work in driving change, influencing policy and supporting victims-survivors.”
Anish Vij