THE real story of a missing woman who vanished from her home aged 16 has been revealed – after she was “found” alive 52 years later.
Police revealed this month that they had finally cracked the case of Sheila Fox, who disappeared from Coventry city centre in 1972.
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It was now emerged that Sheila was living just 80 miles away from her family home all along, according to the MailOnline.
Born in 1956, Sheila, christened Sheelagh due to having Irish parents, grew up in the working-class neighbourhood in the suburbs of Coventry.
Her parents, Anne and Chris, had moved over at the end of the Second World War – with bricklayer Chris finding work rebuilding the war-torn city.
It is believed that Sheelagh – who by this stage went by Sheila – ran away after striking up a relationship with an older man who worked in insurance, the MailOnline reports.
It is believed that her family either disapproved of the new relationship – or that Sheila was concerned about telling them.
Her panicked parents quickly raised the alarm with police and handed over a black and white photo of Sheila – which would eventually lead to the case being closed five decades later.
In July 1973, just 16 months after running away, Sheila and her then husband John Foster had a son called Robert – as pieced together by the Mail using birth and marriage certificates.
Almost ten years later, the mum finally decided to get back in touch with her family – but she was in for a shock.
The whole family, including her parents and three siblings, had all emigrated to Canada.
However, it is believed that they did catch wind of the news – unlike West Midlands Police, the force that had been investigating the case, which remarkably never found out.
Sheila’s cousin Kevin Fox told the Mail: “We all thought at the time that her parents would have informed the police that she’d been found, but who knows? Maybe they did and the message got lost in the records.”
He added that the family had been amused by the force’s recent announcement that Sheila had been “found”.
He joked: “We all had a good laugh and I’m not sure who put them right, but I was a bit surprised to see them patting themselves on the back for the investigation!”
While the exact details of Sheila’s private life are unknown, she remarried with a divorced chauffeur called Jack Thorpe in 1993.
The pair lived in north-west London together from around 1993 until 2015, when they moved to Watford, Hertfordshire, where they remain today.
Sheila’s son, 51-year-old Rob, lives round the corner – and is now a married lorry driver.
Anne and Chris passed away in 1996 and 2019 respectively – with Sheila’s brother Christopher passing away aged 71 in 2018.
Sheila issued a heartfelt tribute to her – evidently not estranged – bro on legacy.com, which read: “No card today. No cake! Heavy hearts and tears. Blessed to have had you as my brother. Sheila x.”
West Midlands Police announced the successful conclusion of the case after posting the black and white photo of Sheila on social media.
The force said that they were investigating the possibility that she had changed her name – or possibly come to harm.
A spokesperson added: “It is believed Sheila’s parents are now deceased, so we are hoping anyone out there who might know what happened to her will get in touch with us and let us know.”
The photo prompted members of Sheila’s family to explain the confusion.
Cops then issued a jubilant statement on January 1 hailing the end of one of the longest-running missing person investigations in the force’s history.
Detective Sergeant Jenna Shaw added: “We’re absolutely delighted to have found Sheila after more than five decades.
“We searched through every piece of evidence we could find and managed to locate a photo of Sheila.
“We are a small team of officers and I’d like to recognise the work of DC Shaun Reeve, who managed to resolve this case with help from the public.
“Every missing person has a story, and their families and friends deserve to know what happened to them and, hopefully, be reunited with them.”
The discovery comes as another cold case from the same period, involving the gruesome murder of a teenage girl, could finally be solved after 50 years, according to a criminologist.
Jacqueline Johns’ naked body was discovered close to Battersea Power Station in southwest London in 1973 – but her killer has never been caught.
The 16-year-old’s shoes were left behind at the scene and criminologist David Wilson believes modern forensics could provide “opportunities that weren’t available at the time”.
He said that potential soil samples from the shoes could lead to fresh lines of enquiry on the case.
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