It is estimated that in Britain each year over 170,000 people go missing, with around 70,000 of those being children.
The vast majority of missing people are found or returned within 24 hours, however a small portion remain missing. Here we look at 5 of the most famous cases of missing people in Britain.
#1 Lord Lucan
Disappeared: 8th November 1974, aged 39
Richard John Bingham, the seventh Earl of Lucan, disappeared on the 8th November 1974 at the age of 39.
Lord Lucan was a British peer who disappeared after being suspected of murdering his nanny, albeit by accident, with his estranged wife being the intended target.
Many theories surround the disappearence of Lord Lucan, from suicide by drowning, to slipping out of the country and spending the rest of his life in Africa. One story even suggests that he shot himself and then had friends feed him to a tiger at a friends private zoo.
Whatever happened to him, we shall probably never know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bingham,_7th_Earl_of_Lucan
brit11970#2 Richey Edwards
Disappeared: 1st February 1995 aged 27
Richey Edwards was a Welsh musician and was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the Manic Street Preachers, an alternative rock band formed in Blackwood during 1986.
It is strongly believed he committed suicide after his car was discovered near to the Severn Bridge, which is a known suicide site. However, people who knew him have said that he wasn't the type to contemplate suicide, and in 1994 Edwards himself was quoted as saying "In terms of the 'S' word, that does not enter my mind. And it never has done, in terms of an attempt. Because I am stronger than that. I might be a weak person, but I can take pain".
#3 Mary Flanagan
Disappeared: 31st December 1959, aged 16
Mary Flanagan disappeared from her London home on New Years Eve in 1959. She was 16 years old at the time, and today it remains the oldest open missing persons case on the books of the Metropolitan Police.
Some believe that Mary may have fell pregnant, and being a catholic and unmarried may have been too ashamed or frightened to tell her parents so instead ran away, either on her own or with her secret boyfriend at the time, who is believed to have been an irish immigrant in the merchant navy. However he could never be traced when the police looked into this. Mary's sister, reported that shortly before her disappearance, Mary had been in a bitter argument with her boyfriend, and in tears afterwards, told her sister that she planned to end the relationship.
On the day of her disappearance Mary was due to attend her works New Year's Eve party, but didn't show up. And in fact it was later discovered that she had not been at work for the previous fortnight.
In January 2017, the charity Missing People commissioned a new age progressed image of Mary, by Tim Widden, a UK forensic artist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Mary_Flanagan
#4 Madeleine McCann
Disappeared: 3 May 2003, aged 3 years old.
The most famous missing person case in recent history is that of little Maddy McCann, who disappeared whilst on holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2003. She was just 3 years old at the time and was taken from her room at the villa where the McCanns were staying. Her parents, Jerry and Kate, at the time were dining out with friends just 180 feet away from the room where Maddy and her siblings had been left unsupervised, though the parents were checking up on them throughout the evening, until around 10PM when Kate McCann discovered that her daughter Maddy was missing.
What followed was one of the most publisized cases in history, often dominating headlines, as Britain and the world started to look for Maddy McCann and speculate what had happened to her.
There were several suspects over the years, including the McCanns themselves, but no one was ever charged and Maddy still remains missing.
#5 Suzy Lamplugh
Disappeared: July 28th 1986, aged 25
Suzy Lamplugh was a British estate agent who vanished whilst out meeting someone called "Mr Kipper" who had made an appointment with Suzy to view a house in Shorrolds Road, Fulham.
Her car, containing her purse, was found outside another property for sale in Fulham, and it is believed that Suzy was abducted, possibly by the mysterious Mr Kipper who was never traced, however, it is strongly believed by many that the person involved in her disappearance was John Cannan, a convicted criminal who was responsible for the murder of Shirley Banks in 1987, and other rapes and abductions since his release from prison just three days before Suzy's disappearance. Indeed the police themselves believe Cannan was the man responsible, though in 2002 the Crown Prosecution Service decided that there was insuficient evidence to charge him.
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