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A woman named Sheila Fox, who mysteriously disappeared 52 years ago at the age of 16, has been found alive and well. Her discovery this week puts an end to one of Great Britain’s oldest missing person cases.
Fox, now 68, disappeared from Coventry in 1972. On Sunday, West Midlands police released a grainy photo of her from around the time she vanished to the public asking for help one more time. The police stated in their plea that Fox had been living with her parents when she disappeared and could have been in a relationship with a man at the time. They also suggested that she may have moved out of the area.
“We searched through every piece of evidence we could find and managed to locate a photo of Sheila,” said Detective Sergeant Jenna Shaw, a member of the West Midlands police cold case investigation team.
Just a few hours later, the 52-year-old mystery had finally been solved. Sheila Fox was alive and well and living in another part of the country.
According to the Guardian, members of the public reached out to police with information that led to her being found.
Coventry woman who vanished 52 years ago found alive and well https://t.co/7AoZVIUQyD
Mystery of Sheila Fox’s disappearance at 16 solved after fresh police appealA woman who went missing 52 years ago has been found alive and well after police release… https://t.co/cYMYt2RIuX
— The Protector (@The_Protect0r_) January 1, 2025
“We are delighted to announce the conclusion of one of West Midlands Police’s longest-running missing person investigations,” a police spokesperson said. “A single photo of Sheila from around the time of her disappearance was found by officers investigating and published on our website and social media. Within hours of the appeal, members of the public got in touch with information which led the team to her.
“Sheila was confirmed to be safe and well and living in another part of the country, finally resolving one of the longest running missing person cases we have investigated.”
Last year, a teen boy who vanished almost 30 years ago and was thought to be dead was found in a secret well under a neighbor’s house located just 200 meters away from his own home.
He had been abducted and held captive until the victim’s family was finally tipped off by the alleged captor’s brother.