UK UK - Sheila Fox, 6, Bolton England, 18 Aug 1944
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paul1980
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unless it was a period piece, any fictional version of Sheila's story on TV would have to take in account that modern primary school girls don't have to wear dresses to school, don't wear big bows in their hair like Sheila did and are monitored much more closely. Also the kidnapper in a TV version would have a car as it's a lot harder to kidnap someone through a bicycle than it was in WWII
Sheila Fox was an English girl who disappeared at age six from Bolton, Lancashire, England. She has been missing for 72 years, 11 months and 22 days at the time of me writing this.
Fox was last seen leaving her school at 4:00 pm in Farnworth on 18 August 1944, presumably on her way home, to which she never arrived.
Companions of Fox claimed to have seen her with a man outside a bakery, where some accounts stated the pair were walking together and others stated she was sitting on the upturned crossbars of a black bicycle he was riding. The man seen with Fox was described as a well-dressed, clean-shaven male between the ages of 25 and 30 years, with a slim build.
One of the witnesses claimed to have spoken with her and stated Sheila said she was "going with this man" when asked where she was going. Due to the fact that Sheila Fox was described as very shy, it is believed she probably knew the man very well if she was to interact with him. Due to this, it is strongly believed that the individual responsible for the child's disappearance was someone that the victim was comfortable with. After this, no trace of Fox was ever reported again.
On the night of her disappearance and the following days, extensive searches for Fox were conducted in the area, by both members of the police force and volunteers. Despite their efforts, police were unable to find any evidence, including the clothing she was wearing, of where she and the man had gone after Fox was last seen. Newspapers covered the story, which was quickly overshadowed by events caused by the current war. An attempt was made in 1948 to link her disappearance with a "tall, thin man", wanted for stabbing two other children.
Searches for Sheila were "expanded" in 2001 after police were notified by an individual claiming to have witnessed a twenty-year-old resident digging in the area around the time the girl vanished, during the late hours of the night and had long suspected foul play was involved. This tip led to the case being reopened by investigators. The location was fairly close to where she lived. Residents expressed doubts that anything would be found, as earlier maintenance of the city sewers in the area had not unearthed any remains.
The property, at the time, was owned by the man seen digging, who is now deceased. The man was convicted of a rape six years after the disappearance and had later been convicted of a child's sexual assault in the 1960s. It was later excavated manually by authorities in hopes of finding her remains. The procedure, which began on 5 June 2001 and lasted a few days, was unsuccessful, as nothing of evidentiary value was discovered.
Source: Disappearance of Sheila Fox - Wikipedia
Fox was last seen leaving her school at 4:00 pm in Farnworth on 18 August 1944, presumably on her way home, to which she never arrived.
Companions of Fox claimed to have seen her with a man outside a bakery, where some accounts stated the pair were walking together and others stated she was sitting on the upturned crossbars of a black bicycle he was riding. The man seen with Fox was described as a well-dressed, clean-shaven male between the ages of 25 and 30 years, with a slim build.
One of the witnesses claimed to have spoken with her and stated Sheila said she was "going with this man" when asked where she was going. Due to the fact that Sheila Fox was described as very shy, it is believed she probably knew the man very well if she was to interact with him. Due to this, it is strongly believed that the individual responsible for the child's disappearance was someone that the victim was comfortable with. After this, no trace of Fox was ever reported again.
On the night of her disappearance and the following days, extensive searches for Fox were conducted in the area, by both members of the police force and volunteers. Despite their efforts, police were unable to find any evidence, including the clothing she was wearing, of where she and the man had gone after Fox was last seen. Newspapers covered the story, which was quickly overshadowed by events caused by the current war. An attempt was made in 1948 to link her disappearance with a "tall, thin man", wanted for stabbing two other children.
Searches for Sheila were "expanded" in 2001 after police were notified by an individual claiming to have witnessed a twenty-year-old resident digging in the area around the time the girl vanished, during the late hours of the night and had long suspected foul play was involved. This tip led to the case being reopened by investigators. The location was fairly close to where she lived. Residents expressed doubts that anything would be found, as earlier maintenance of the city sewers in the area had not unearthed any remains.
The property, at the time, was owned by the man seen digging, who is now deceased. The man was convicted of a rape six years after the disappearance and had later been convicted of a child's sexual assault in the 1960s. It was later excavated manually by authorities in hopes of finding her remains. The procedure, which began on 5 June 2001 and lasted a few days, was unsuccessful, as nothing of evidentiary value was discovered.
Source: Disappearance of Sheila Fox - Wikipedia
Missing for 75 years...
Sheila Fox
Missing since August 18, 1944 from Bolton, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Sheila Fox was last seen after leaving St James's Primary School in New Bury, Farnworth, Bolton on August 18, 1944.
At some point as she made her way home to her family's house on Macdonald Avenue, New Bury, Sheila Fox disappeared, never to be seen again.
Within hours of reports that she was missing an exhaustive search of the Farnworth area began.
Young playmates of Sheila told how they had seen their friend riding on the crossbar of a man's bicycle.
Another school friend said she had seen Sheila walking with a man.
Sheila's parents said that she would have had to know the man very well because she was very shy.
They always believed that Sheila had tried to head to London, as some of her wartime schoolmates were refugee children from the capital.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Greater Manchester Police
0161 856 5965
--
Crimestoppers
0800 555 111
Source Information:
BBC News
This is Lancashire 6/5/01
iVenus
Manchester News 6/5/02
Manchester News 8/18/04
The Doe Network: Case File 732DFUK
Sheila Fox
Missing since August 18, 1944 from Bolton, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
- Age at Time of Disappearance: 6 years old
- Clothing: Blue flowered frock, green coat, stockings and shoes. She had pink ribbons in her hair.
Sheila Fox was last seen after leaving St James's Primary School in New Bury, Farnworth, Bolton on August 18, 1944.
At some point as she made her way home to her family's house on Macdonald Avenue, New Bury, Sheila Fox disappeared, never to be seen again.
Within hours of reports that she was missing an exhaustive search of the Farnworth area began.
Young playmates of Sheila told how they had seen their friend riding on the crossbar of a man's bicycle.
Another school friend said she had seen Sheila walking with a man.
Sheila's parents said that she would have had to know the man very well because she was very shy.
They always believed that Sheila had tried to head to London, as some of her wartime schoolmates were refugee children from the capital.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Greater Manchester Police
0161 856 5965
--
Crimestoppers
0800 555 111
Source Information:
BBC News
This is Lancashire 6/5/01
iVenus
Manchester News 6/5/02
Manchester News 8/18/04
The Doe Network: Case File 732DFUK
Nell91
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Bumping, because I live on the next street and my Nan's stepsister was the last person seen with Sheila.
My Nan thinks it was someone either exempt from serving in the war or someone too old to, as she said most men round that area were deployed at the time.
Really sobering walking past the street every day, bless this little girl.
My Nan thinks it was someone either exempt from serving in the war or someone too old to, as she said most men round that area were deployed at the time.
Really sobering walking past the street every day, bless this little girl.
Sheila Fox, age 6
Missing since 19 August 1944
LINK:
Sheila Fox - Unsolved Murder 1944 - Barton Road, Bolton - Sheila Fox Unsolved Mysteries UK
SirTwangalot
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This case has grabbed my attention as the location is not too far from where I live.
Today, I took a diversion on the way home from Manchester and was shocked about the proximity of a certain Mr Richard Ryan (b1924), who lived on Barton Road. Sheila lived on MacDonald Avenue, literally within spitting distance. She would have seen him or recognise him. He lived close enough to be able to groom her... and he was 20 years old. Pretty much a grown man.
Richard Ryan was convicted of rape in 1950, age 26 and sexual assault on a child in 1965 when he was 41. Now you might disagree but rapists and child abusers do not just start and stop - he would have done many many more that were not reported in that 15 year period.
Richard Ryan's former residence on Barton Road was subject to a forensic enquiry as an elderly man recently came forward with evidence. He was age 13 around the time that Sheila disappeared and witnessed Richard Ryan digging a large hole in his back garden late at night. Nothing was found but we are talking about a time period of 60 years since Ryan was spotted doing this. He had ample time to move Sheila's body....
I think he did it. And I also think he's a contender for Jack Quentin Smith, another local boy who was murdered in 1948.
Today, I took a diversion on the way home from Manchester and was shocked about the proximity of a certain Mr Richard Ryan (b1924), who lived on Barton Road. Sheila lived on MacDonald Avenue, literally within spitting distance. She would have seen him or recognise him. He lived close enough to be able to groom her... and he was 20 years old. Pretty much a grown man.
Richard Ryan was convicted of rape in 1950, age 26 and sexual assault on a child in 1965 when he was 41. Now you might disagree but rapists and child abusers do not just start and stop - he would have done many many more that were not reported in that 15 year period.
Richard Ryan's former residence on Barton Road was subject to a forensic enquiry as an elderly man recently came forward with evidence. He was age 13 around the time that Sheila disappeared and witnessed Richard Ryan digging a large hole in his back garden late at night. Nothing was found but we are talking about a time period of 60 years since Ryan was spotted doing this. He had ample time to move Sheila's body....
I think he did it. And I also think he's a contender for Jack Quentin Smith, another local boy who was murdered in 1948.
Last edited:
FOXINBOX
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Had seen this case on DoeNetwork. As a Fox, it was always on my books, but I've never had a detailed look at because it's a bit out of my research area and time. There's some interesting posts on here. Can anyone tell me if the geographic area is much changed since Sheila disappeared? If I go look @ a map, will it be the same, a bit changed, or totally different? Thank you.
FOXINBOX
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I hope I don't offend anyone but I've got some questions.
1) What is meant by stockings? Does it mean stockings, long socks or ankle socks?
2) Does anybody know why Sheila was hanging round the school when it was the middle of the summer holidays?
3) By the end of August several cyclists... had been ruled out of the inquiry, but authorities were unable to trace a man riding on Newbrook Road, Atherton, with a little girl on the cross bar who matched Sheila’s description. Witnesses claimed the child was aged five or six and the cyclist had headed off towards Leigh, riding past Atherton Parish Church.
This is 4.5 miles, 20 minute cycle-ride from the school. This seems a long time for Sheila to be unaware of something that wasn’t quite right. It seems to suggest that either a) she felt secure going off to Leigh with a strange man, or b) the child seen by the witnesses was not Sheila.
4) Her parents had suggested she wanted to join some classmates who were refugees from London. Is that refugees or evacuees, do you think?
It is possible that Sheila's parents were right and that Sheila was not murdered. During the various informal studies and research I've done, it's quite clear that the fog of war obscured a lot of child trafficking. I'm not saying that's true for Sheila, but the potential is there.
It doesn't move anything forward, but I just like to get what facts I can glean clear in my mind.
1) What is meant by stockings? Does it mean stockings, long socks or ankle socks?
2) Does anybody know why Sheila was hanging round the school when it was the middle of the summer holidays?
3) By the end of August several cyclists... had been ruled out of the inquiry, but authorities were unable to trace a man riding on Newbrook Road, Atherton, with a little girl on the cross bar who matched Sheila’s description. Witnesses claimed the child was aged five or six and the cyclist had headed off towards Leigh, riding past Atherton Parish Church.
This is 4.5 miles, 20 minute cycle-ride from the school. This seems a long time for Sheila to be unaware of something that wasn’t quite right. It seems to suggest that either a) she felt secure going off to Leigh with a strange man, or b) the child seen by the witnesses was not Sheila.
4) Her parents had suggested she wanted to join some classmates who were refugees from London. Is that refugees or evacuees, do you think?
It is possible that Sheila's parents were right and that Sheila was not murdered. During the various informal studies and research I've done, it's quite clear that the fog of war obscured a lot of child trafficking. I'm not saying that's true for Sheila, but the potential is there.
It doesn't move anything forward, but I just like to get what facts I can glean clear in my mind.
Nell91
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My nan's stepsister was the last person to see Sheila, they were best friends. All I know is that the rumour was it was either a disabled or older man, as apparently most men were drafted at that time, especially round this area.
Atherton is a straight run from here, you literally just follow one long road so would make sense if they were on a bicycle.
Atherton is a straight run from here, you literally just follow one long road so would make sense if they were on a bicycle.
Interesting possibility. Here is a photo of Quentin Smith:
LINK:
Ep23 - The Disappearance Of Sheila Fox — misconduct. A True Crime Podcast
imstilla.grandma
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Sheila Fox, 6
Sheila went missing on her way home from school in August 18, 1944.Dubbed the 'girl in the green coat', she was last seen outside a local bakery in wartime Bolton with a strange man on a bike.
Witnesses claimed she was riding on the handlebars at one point, and when one passerby asked her what she was doing, she replied: "Going with this man."
Chilling missing person cases from paper round teen to 2 girls on same street
As police continue their desperate search for Nicola Bulley, The Mirror takes a look at the horrifying cases of the children, men and women who went out one day and never came back
www.mirror.co.uk
falkenberg3132
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