UK UK - Ruth Wilson, 16, Dorking, 27 Nov 1995

I agree that the date has to have some meaning, and if it does, neither Karen or Ian is telling.

According to this article in The Sun: "Ruth had been told she died after falling down the stairs and breaking her neck, but in October 1995 she went to London to examine her mother's death certificate."

This is just one month before her disappearance—not a year—and this is confirmed by one of Ruth's friends: "Crucially, Catherine revealed that Ruth had found out about her mother’s suicide just before she disappeared. She was devastated. 'Ruth was really troubled,' she said. 'She had so much going on in her head that she was desperately trying to find out who she was. '"

My first thought, then, was: what if the delivery date was exactly one month after she examined the death certificate? But October 29 was a Sunday that year, so I doubt a library or public records place would've been open. (But could she maybe have gone on Friday, October 27, exactly one month before her disappearance?)

Another thought is that maybe the date is connected to the wedding anniversary of her father and stepmother. I've read that they were married "in the last quarter of 1983 in Surrey," i.e., October–December 1983. Maybe October/November 27/29?

I haven't found their marriage certificate, but Nesta's death certificate is public (see below). And I note that it was "certified to be a true copy" (whatever that means) on November 21, 2017—almost exactly two years before Ruth disappeared.

As for the meaning behind the flowers, Catherine agrees that they were a "dark practical joke," adding that they were a "two-fingers up kinda thing." I don't know what to make of that, though. Did Ruth blame Karen for maybe helping to cover up the truth about Nesta's death? But is that something Ian would've told Karen to begin with, like "hey, my first wife committed suicide." If the flowers are connected to Karen and Ian's wedding, could it have been a way for Ruth to slight her father, by addressing the flowers to Karen alone? That would qualify as a "two-fingers up kinda thing" for me.

Did Ruth order the flowers over the phone or in person? How was her demeanor according to the clerk? Was it ever determined to be her SM birthday/anniversary/etc;? When she’s dropped off where was she standing that made the cabbie feel like she was acting strangely? Sidewalk? In street? MOO
I was wondering if there was any significance to the timing of the flower delivery as well, so ordered a copy of the marriage certificate. Ian Wilson and Karen Bowerman were married at The Register Office, Surrey Mid Eastern district on 25 October 1983, so the flowers (delivered on 29 November, I think) don't appear to relate to Ian and Karen's wedding anniversary, but perhaps it was her birthday, or some other significant date.

When they married, Ian and Karen already lived in the cottage in Betchworth where they still live now. The Land Registry shows that they purchased the cottage jointly on 4 October 1983.

This does all seem to have happened very soon after Nesta's death, and very traumatic for Ruth. Her mother died suddenly, then Ruth goes to stay with family, and when she returns it was to a different home and new step-mother? Then, years later, Ruth discovers that she has been misled about why her mother died.

The more I think about Ruth's disappearance, the more sure I am that there are several people who have information which they are keeping to themselves. I do still think and hope Ruth is safe and well somewhere.
 

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I was wondering if there was any significance to the timing of the flower delivery as well, so ordered a copy of the marriage certificate. Ian Wilson and Karen Bowerman were married at The Register Office, Surrey Mid Eastern district on 25 October 1983, so the flowers (delivered on 29 November, I think) don't appear to relate to Ian and Karen's wedding anniversary, but perhaps it was her birthday, or some other significant date.

When they married, Ian and Karen already lived in the cottage in Betchworth where they still live now. The Land Registry shows that they purchased the cottage jointly on 4 October 1983.

This does all seem to have happened very soon after Nesta's death, and very traumatic for Ruth. Her mother died suddenly, then Ruth goes to stay with family, and when she returns it was to a different home and new step-mother? Then, years later, Ruth discovers that she has been misled about why her mother died.

The more I think about Ruth's disappearance, the more sure I am that there are several people who have information which they are keeping to themselves. I do still think and hope Ruth is safe and well somewhere.
Nice work ! And good info :)

Friends in the recent documentary on Ruth, felt that the flowers were likely more of an "up yours" than a well wished present. Obviously that isn't concrete but they would have known Ruth's character better than us.

I do agree that the change of home and the new step mother would have been super traumatic, and could have all contributed to her unhappiness !
 
I assumed references to dropping off were used fairly loosely and, most probably, the taxi driver just dropped her at the pub car park where it would be easy to pull in and turn round. Not a lay by in the strict sense but the obvious place. The old quarry is at the base of Box Hill if you follow a straight line from The Tree down the hill toward Brockham (which is next to her home village of Betchworth). It is just on the Box Hill side of the railway line and is now a fishing lake. I think there are additional minor quarry workings in the vicinity of the lake but tree covered and much less significant. At the time the quarry area was searched by both police and sniffer dogs, to no effect. I do not know if the lake was dived but given the commercial fishing use a body would have almost certainly been snagged or detected during maintenance.
I agree about the pub as a meeting place but very little about this case makes much sense apart from the obvious planning involved.
Quarry lakes can be deep with nasty currents. A friend of mine works with a quarry lake where there is an underground stream and they don't know where it leads to. So sadly a search maybe wouldn't have revealed anything

The taxi driver specifically said he dropped Ruth at a bridleway near the pub (star on the map). According to the Ordnance Survey map the only bridleway is virtually opposite the pub and leads east around what could also be quarry to the B2032 road, or south-west towards the quarry marked on OS map (see image). In the 'Vanished' documentary, the entrance to the bridleway (nearly opposite the pub) appears to be the location where they talk to Kay and Roxy.

I don't know exactly where the notes were found, I'm not even sure if the Police have revealed that information. As far as I know, the Police referred to the notes as "farewell" notes, rather than suicide notes, but is that because they weren't suicide notes, or because they want to be careful about how much information about them that they give?

The family and the Police being reluctant to give information or push for more investigation is very frustrating. I watched the documentary again on tv (available on STV catchup), and even that investigation was going on for seven years and they still thought Ruth was happy at home and assumed she was still on Box Hill. Suicide is least likely to me, it seems obviously staged. I just hope Ruth is safe and well somewhere.

The police wouldn't have wanted to refer to them as suicide notes as that would be a decision from the Coroner. And as there is no body I don't know if they would have wanted to have implied suicide
 
I was wondering if there was any significance to the timing of the flower delivery as well, so ordered a copy of the marriage certificate. Ian Wilson and Karen Bowerman were married at The Register Office, Surrey Mid Eastern district on 25 October 1983, so the flowers (delivered on 29 November, I think) don't appear to relate to Ian and Karen's wedding anniversary, but perhaps it was her birthday, or some other significant date.

When they married, Ian and Karen already lived in the cottage in Betchworth where they still live now. The Land Registry shows that they purchased the cottage jointly on 4 October 1983.

This does all seem to have happened very soon after Nesta's death, and very traumatic for Ruth. Her mother died suddenly, then Ruth goes to stay with family, and when she returns it was to a different home and new step-mother? Then, years later, Ruth discovers that she has been misled about why her mother died.

The more I think about Ruth's disappearance, the more sure I am that there are several people who have information which they are keeping to themselves. I do still think and hope Ruth is safe and well somewhere.

Some people do remarry rather quickly, grief can have very strange effects on people too. People don't always behave as we might expect them to under circumstances like extreme grief, etc. I do not think it is suspicious at all. We have no idea about the mother's life or mental health or what she was going through. But it must have been very traumatic for Ruth who would have been old enough to remember her mother, perhaps. And finding out she had been lied to must have been a shock to a teenage girl.

From the documentary by Martin Bright, it would seem that Ruth's father and stepmother were not aware that Ruth had found out the truth about her mother's death. I assume that her dad is telling the truth about that. If so, then Ruth must have had reasons why she didn't feel she could discuss this with him or her stepmother. There is also the question about what prompted her to seek out her mother's death certificate, or how she knew she could do so. Perhaps someone in the community told her something about her mother's death not being what she had been told it was. If so, then that person perhaps realized why Ruth had left home.

I find it odd that Ruth's parents must have known she had run away before albeit for a short time, and yet they did not say anything about this (did they mention any of that to the police?) It seems they do want to keep a public image of the family that is somewhat sanitized.

My feeling about this now is that her family do not believe Ruth was murdered, since if so, then surely, they would want to leave no stone unturned to find out what happened to their daughter and who killed her. Perhaps there has been some sign of life that has not been made public. The police have not declared her dead, as has happened in other cases, so it seems there is belief there--which would be based on some form of evidence--that Ruth is not dead.

I think that Ruth's friends know more than they have let on too. And someone helped Ruth to run away, which involved perhaps an intention to fake a suicide. Whether that is the same person who told her or tipped her off about her mum's death, if indeed that is what happened, who knows.

Ruth's parents think she has run away, all their appeals were to Ruth to come home, right? Not to an abductor to let her go? Why does Martin Bright think she is dead?

If Ruth is alive, which is very possible, I hope she is well and happy.
 
The police have not declared her dead, as has happened in other cases, so it seems there is belief there--which would be based on some form of evidence--that Ruth is not dead.
Whilst I agree with much I do not think that the police position can be interpreted in this way. It has come up in previous posts and the problem lies with policing rules and their behaviour. They almost certainly do not have evidence to support her being alive as, if they did, they would not have conducted multiple case reviews - the most recent being in the last 5 years. And this seems to rule out the parents having received such information from the police, although since the rules for the police would not allow them to make this public (or pass on anything more than confirmation of continuing life to the parents) we would not necessarily know except for the contrary evidence of the need for case reviews. The case reviews suggest to me that the police have no evidence either way and are as much in the dark as we are.
 
Whilst I agree with much I do not think that the police position can be interpreted in this way. It has come up in previous posts and the problem lies with policing rules and their behaviour. They almost certainly do not have evidence to support her being alive as, if they did, they would not have conducted multiple case reviews - the most recent being in the last 5 years. And this seems to rule out the parents having received such information from the police, although since the rules for the police would not allow them to make this public (or pass on anything more than confirmation of continuing life to the parents) we would not necessarily know except for the contrary evidence of the need for case reviews. The case reviews suggest to me that the police have no evidence either way and are as much in the dark as we are.
Thanks for this.

It is such a haunting case.
 
I assumed references to dropping off were used fairly loosely and, most probably, the taxi driver just dropped her at the pub car park where it would be easy to pull in and turn round. Not a lay by in the strict sense but the obvious place. The old quarry is at the base of Box Hill if you follow a straight line from The Tree down the hill toward Brockham (which is next to her home village of Betchworth). It is just on the Box Hill side of the railway line and is now a fishing lake. I think there are additional minor quarry workings in the vicinity of the lake but tree covered and much less significant. At the time the quarry area was searched by both police and sniffer dogs, to no effect. I do not know if the lake was dived but given the commercial fishing use a body would have almost certainly been snagged or detected during maintenance.
I agree about the pub as a meeting place but very little about this case makes much sense apart from the obvious planning involved.
The research I’ve done is that the taxi driver dropped her of at the bridle path there is 3 near the pub,I was there at 4.30pm today.it was pitch black and the thought or her walking of up the path on her own with pixie boots on in the mud and wet condition and no touch is near impossible.if she did get dropped off at the pub I’m sure she would have been seen by lots of people.(assuming the police did go to the pub?)
 
A witness who knew Ruth reported seeing her walking along Reigate Road with a suitcase on the day of her disappearance, or the day after.

The CCTV from the newsagent one year after the disappearance seems to show that Ruth did make it, if it was Ruth. If it wasn't her, who else might have wanted a copy of each local paper on that particular day?
It has been well documented that Ruth had a small blue duffel bag with a Walkman and some tapes what else was inside we will never no
 
Back in 1995 it was still easy to get a driving licence as photo licences were not introduced until 98 or 99. Possession of such a licence could then be used to leverage other forms of identification. Although only 16 Ruth would have been able to apply for such a licence for a moped. The British Visitors passport (a one year passport, much easier to get than a full passport) was also still available in 1995 (it was withdrawn in 1996). I seem to recall that a driving licence would have been an acceptable form of identification for this passport which could be got over the counter at Post Offices. Seems surprising but much has changed since those days.
I got a one year passport in the 80s with a copy of my birth certificate
 
This is a really useful summary of the case and highlights a couple extra questions for me;

- She met her ex boyfriend Will Kennedy both nights before her disappearance, for dinner Saturday and then at his house Sunday. She travelled to a road with a pub on and the taxi driver reported her waiting by the road as though expecting someone. The pattern would point towards meeting Will. I wonder what his alibi was. I think Will would be a key person who is probably at least withholding some information.

- I also didnt realise that Levi Bellfield (serial killer) abducted Millie Dowler only 10miles away from this. If he did just so happen to be in that area, a young girl standing by the road in a rural area would be a sitting duck for him. He is suspected of many other murders in the 90s in the area. Levi has abducted other girls nearer to/ in London but 2 of the girls were abducted in Surrey (Hampton and Walton-on-Thames) so it's not a stretch that he might have been prowling further south.

In my opinion you make some valid points.
 
Something else’s that’s always bugged me is that to my knowledge they has never been a reward offered ? If that was my daughter,one I would do everything in my power to keep the story in the press and two offer a substantial reward even if I had to sell my house to do so.as I understand Ruth parents were wealthy people ? But never done this ?
 
The research I’ve done is that the taxi driver dropped her of at the bridle path there is 3 near the pub,I was there at 4.30pm today.it was pitch black and the thought or her walking of up the path on her own with pixie boots on in the mud and wet condition and no touch is near impossible.if she did get dropped off at the pub I’m sure she would have been seen by lots of people.(assuming the police did go to the pub?)
I agree that it is unlikely she went down the hillside paths but my comment about the quarry was simply to respond to suggestions she could be in there, which seems even more unlikely to me for the reasons given. In terms of drop off and being seen; this was circa 4.30 (if I remember right) in the afternoon, long before the pub would be busy so it is entirely possible for her to be dropped and either picked up or headed off by foot without being seen. I do not know the opening hours of The Tree in 1995 but it may have not even been open at that time as all day opening only came to the UK 7 years earlier. I do assume the police canvassed the area and it is surprising no one saw anything as, contrary to some suggestions, there are (and were) plenty of houses and other buildings around. But a murky November dusk would not be the best time for sightings.
The issue of a reward seems a red herring to me. The use of rewards has been historically fairly rare in the UK although it has increased in recent years. It is also possible that the police have advised against such a move. In terms of the family they sound comfortable financially rather than wealthy.
 
This is a really useful summary of the case and highlights a couple extra questions for me;

- She met her ex boyfriend Will Kennedy both nights before her disappearance, for dinner Saturday and then at his house Sunday. She travelled to a road with a pub on and the taxi driver reported her waiting by the road as though expecting someone. The pattern would point towards meeting Will. I wonder what his alibi was. I think Will would be a key person who is probably at least withholding some information.

- I also didnt realise that Levi Bellfield (serial killer) abducted Millie Dowler only 10miles away from this. If he did just so happen to be in that area, a young girl standing by the road in a rural area would be a sitting duck for him. He is suspected of many other murders in the 90s in the area. Levi has abducted other girls nearer to/ in London but 2 of the girls were abducted in Surrey (Hampton and Walton-on-Thames) so it's not a stretch that he might have been prowling further south.
I cannot rule out Bellfield but the odds seem stacked against a girl planning her disappearance and then having the bad luck to bump into Bellfield on a back road mainly used by locals. If we did not have the evidence of her planning I would be more inclined to look at known offenders including Bellfield.
 
Allso as you no there are no pavements near there so I take in to account that there were less cars on the roads but for her to walk off she would have been walking in the road or walking in a dark muddy bridle path.I do believe she got picked up in a car and I also believe her friends no more than there are letting on.but I can’t understand why the police have not had a full cold case review?re interviewing witnesses,DNA on the notes and bottle(if it exists).I think they would have done more if Ruth’s parents had pushed the police.(the ironic thing is when I was there the other night I found some missing posters on some trees near by for a dog) I thought they were for Ruth.
 
Allso as you no there are no pavements near there so I take in to account that there were less cars on the roads but for her to walk off she would have been walking in the road or walking in a dark muddy bridle path.I do believe she got picked up in a car and I also believe her friends no more than there are letting on.but I can’t understand why the police have not had a full cold case review?re interviewing witnesses,DNA on the notes and bottle(if it exists).I think they would have done more if Ruth’s parents had pushed the police.(the ironic thing is when I was there the other night I found some missing posters on some trees near by for a dog) I thought they were for Ruth.
The dna issue re the notes and bottles is interesting. It is possible that either they have done this and not announced it or have what they regard as suitable identification evidence regarding the material (and have not specified it publicly). If not I agree dna testing makes sense (provided the evidence has been adequately kept). In terms of cold case reviews, I believe they have had 3 over the years and that the last one was headed by a Superintendent about 5 years ago, which is pretty senior for such a review. How much reinterviewing was done I do not know but they will have identified any omissions in the initial inquiry and corrected those (although that inquiry seems to have been more comprehensive than many given the extent and methods of the search and the fairly robust approach to the friend in Sheffield).
 
And what about a poster campaign ? I contacted missing people website and they said they could only do this with the police’s permission,I no times are hard but 5-10k on a bit of media and leaflets might jog someone’s memory? Why would the police not do something like this once a year on the 27th November? Or do they need permission from her parents.it’s just such a sad case it frustrates me that none of her family or friends want to keep the case in the public eye.
 
Allso as you no there are no pavements near there so I take in to account that there were less cars on the roads but for her to walk off she would have been walking in the road or walking in a dark muddy bridle path.I do believe she got picked up in a car and I also believe her friends no more than there are letting on.but I can’t understand why the police have not had a full cold case review?re interviewing witnesses,DNA on the notes and bottle(if it exists).I think they would have done more if Ruth’s parents had pushed the police.(the ironic thing is when I was there the other night I found some missing posters on some trees near by for a dog) I thought they were for Ruth.
I also think she was picked up by a pre arranged car. Who did she know who drove a car? JMO
 

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