Officer Dibble
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Just my opinion but I tend to agree with you. JMO MOO
UK UK - Ruth Wilson, 16, Dorking, 27 Nov 1995
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Konstantin
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Yes the fact that it is known she spent time in the library in an age before CCTV must mean that witnesses, quite probably library staff, placed her there. There is potentially info on what she was doing there and what her behaviour was like, distressed, calm, etc, was she writing, reading?
My feeling with this is that Ruth believed herself to be possibly at risk at home or was just so upset at her father and stepmother she made a plan to run away. We know she was distressed and had run away or spent time away from home previously and her parents must have known that too. They have been less than honest or forthcoming and I imagine they know more than they are letting on too, in that if they believed Ruth to have been murdered, one would imagine they would say something and push harder for her case to be investigated and kept alive. They believe or know she is alive and that she does not want anything to do with them, and they don't want to talk because that would reflect badly on them and be embarrassing, in my view. Yes this is just my speculation!
PommyMommy
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FEB 18, 2023
www.getsurrey.co.uk
[...]
Every few years, fresh appeals are made for witnesses and people who knew her who might have vital information to come forward. Back in 2018 a documentary was made, recounting Ruth’s last known moments before she vanished without a trace.
Ruth, a troubled Betchworth teenager, would often stay at her friend Ben’s house, and would talk about not going home. Unbeknownst to the family, Ruth made the shocking discovery that her mother, Nesta, had died by suicide when Ruth was just four years of age. She had been told by her father, Ian, that Nesta had fallen down the stairs accidentally and died.
Ruth’s friend, Catherine Mair, moved to Sheffield in Yorkshire, and in the lead up to her move, Ruth reportedly asked Catherine multiple times if she would move with her. A few weeks after Catherine’s move, Ruth vanished. In an interview with Real Stories, Catherine said she was “adamant” that Ruth spoke of wanting to “run away” but never spoke of suicide.
[...]
The teenage girl who vanished from Surrey beauty spot 28 years ago
The case has baffled detectives for nearly three decades
Every few years, fresh appeals are made for witnesses and people who knew her who might have vital information to come forward. Back in 2018 a documentary was made, recounting Ruth’s last known moments before she vanished without a trace.
Ruth, a troubled Betchworth teenager, would often stay at her friend Ben’s house, and would talk about not going home. Unbeknownst to the family, Ruth made the shocking discovery that her mother, Nesta, had died by suicide when Ruth was just four years of age. She had been told by her father, Ian, that Nesta had fallen down the stairs accidentally and died.
Ruth’s friend, Catherine Mair, moved to Sheffield in Yorkshire, and in the lead up to her move, Ruth reportedly asked Catherine multiple times if she would move with her. A few weeks after Catherine’s move, Ruth vanished. In an interview with Real Stories, Catherine said she was “adamant” that Ruth spoke of wanting to “run away” but never spoke of suicide.
[...]
The teenage girl who vanished from Surrey beauty spot 28 years ago
The case has baffled detectives for nearly three decades
- 19 FEB 2023
paracletus____
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Hi everyone. This is my first post on this forum, although I have been following some threads for quite some time.
I'm not native of England, but I've been living in the country for many years and I'm based in a town quite close to where Ruth lived, so her case always felt "close", in a way. After going through a lot of the news and sources available, I have some questions that I'd like to share with you:
As a general consideration about this sighting, I always thought it to be extremely bizarre and found it difficult to think it would not have been her (even her father seems convinced it was). On the other hand, I'm sceptical that she could have been hiding in exactly the same area she had disappeared from without ever being spotted or recognised by someone, unless she had found a way to shun public life completely. Very unlikely, but not impossible.
Thank you for your time.
I'm not native of England, but I've been living in the country for many years and I'm based in a town quite close to where Ruth lived, so her case always felt "close", in a way. After going through a lot of the news and sources available, I have some questions that I'd like to share with you:
- I've never heard mention of Ruth's biological mother's family (i.e., grandparents on mother's side). Although one would assume the police reached out to them back when Ruth disappeared and/or over the years, has there even been explicit mention (or an interview) of them at all? I'm not even sure whether they were/are actually alive.
- A bottle of Vermouth wine was found on Box Hill, along with the letters and the Paracetamol. Do we know for sure that the bottle belonged to Ruth? Was it ever tested for DNA? It would be interesting to understand if, maybe, other DNA was present. Again, one would assume the police have done all of this, but by following other missing persons cases, I've learned not to take things for granted. The police generally do a good job, but at times have also been incredibly sloppy or spectacularly missed on some obvious things.
- Was anything further revealed about the content of those letters? I understand they were worded as some sort of farewell, but why not send them, considering she went all the way to send those flowers to her stepmother? Was she just counting on them being found? Why run the risk of them never being read by the people she wrote them to?
- I've read mentions in articles of, quote-unquote, fairly reliable sightings in the weeks following her disappearance, but I could never find anything about them. Were they ever listed or described somewhere? Mind you, these sightings are separate from the one that allegedly occurred one year later on the disappearance's anniversary.
- In regard to the sighting at the Dorking newsagent's shop, I could only find one still black/white image that doesn't even show her face. Not very helpful. Was the CCTV ever released? And why would it not be, if there was a chance it could help in finding her?
- I don't know CCTV policy was at the time, but wouldn't the police also have looked at CCTV from streets and nearby shops to understand where this girl had come from and had gone to, after she left? She must have been picked up by other cameras. It's not explicitly mentioned how long the shop owner took before contacting the police, but it seems to have been almost immediately after. Provided the police did not wait for weeks or months (like in the Andrew Gosden case), they should have still had access to CCTV from the surrounding area.
As a general consideration about this sighting, I always thought it to be extremely bizarre and found it difficult to think it would not have been her (even her father seems convinced it was). On the other hand, I'm sceptical that she could have been hiding in exactly the same area she had disappeared from without ever being spotted or recognised by someone, unless she had found a way to shun public life completely. Very unlikely, but not impossible.
Thank you for your time.
Perfectly reasonable questions to which there are not many answers. The police, as is usual, have not released fine detail of their investigation but it would be surprising if there were large omissions on their part given that there have been multiple case reviews, the most recent on 5 or 6 years ago by a very senior officer.
The issue of cctv is especially unclear. This was 1995 and there was less cctv (and Dorking would have not been a hot spot for what did exist). I do not know the location of the newsagent in the anniversary sighting (and am not sure if it has been specified other than in Dorking). If it was on Dorking High Street there may have been other cameras (although they may not cover the street). If it was an isolated shop in a residential street there probably were no other local cameras. There is also the question of retention times. I know that rail cctv used to be only retained for one week (it may be more now) so much may have been wiped even before police could review it. I would have assumed they would have reviewed cctv from key sites at the time of her disappearance, such as local rail stations (there are 3 in Dorking and others in local villages including Betchworth)
DNA is similarly affected by the date of her disappearance. It is only 8 years after its first use by the police, was much less developed than today and would have been unlikely to be a priority for a missing person case at the time given its then limitations. It is reasonable to ask whether the evidence could have been subsequently tested but again, given budgets and priorities, I doubt it has been a priority.
As for the reported sightings, I have limited confidence in most including that at the newsagents. Identifications are notoriously unreliable. The most interesting one, in my view, is that by someone who claimed to know her well and reported seeing her with a suitcase - but was unable to recall if it was the day she went missing or on a previous day. The combination of someone who knew her well, their high confidence in the identification and the suitcase seems a probable correct identification. But this sighting was not subsequent to her going missing and just reinforces the case for her planning.
Not many answers I know, but that is the nature of this case.
Heysham to Belfast was also a car ferry service until 2002, when it went over to freight only. But when running it was popular (I know as I went to Lancaster University just a few miles away).
I am not sure if this has ever been posted, but the attached gives perhaps the best overview of the area where Ruth went missing and, most importantly, an understanding of the location of quarry works and other features relative to footpaths, including one running from just across the road from the pub (which would be on the top left hand corner of the map on the link, up and across from Clump Ave). In my mind it just helps reinforce my view that she is not up there, in the quarry or elsewhere. If she had intended to take the paths down from Box Hill Road it would have made more sense to be dropped at Fort Rd (just before Usherwood Close approaching from Dorking) rather than being taken to the pub. An easier path down, linking to the North Downs Way, exists from Fort Road. So that just leaves the question of why go to the pub? The only explanations can be either to go to somewhere near to the pub or to be picked up by someone else at a convenient landmark. I would assume police canvassing would have identified anyone of interest living very close to the pub so that seems unlikely. That means we are left with a helper to pick her up. But why there? I cannot see any destination which would benefit from meeting at that location. The road confers no advantage as a pick up point to go anywhere obvious that would not be better served by using another location. So, for me, it suggests the location was specifically chosen as somewhere that is sufficiently out of the way that a subsequent pick up would not be noticed - which reinforces the planned disappearance theory (without saying anything about subsequent events). As ever, the key lies in identifying an accomplice (which certainly seems to have been police thinking when questioning her friends).
Inspector wise
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No because that’s the day she went missing.
There was only one credible sighting of Ruth and that was by someone that was at her school(she was walking down reigate road with a suitcase)but she could not recall the exact date,wether it was the day before or the day after she went missing
There was only one credible sighting of Ruth and that was by someone that was at her school(she was walking down reigate road with a suitcase)but she could not recall the exact date,wether it was the day before or the day after she went missing
Inspector wise
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The fact is we will never no if the police had any prime suspects or not as they will not release any information.<modsnip - no link> I do second guess myself sometimes and wonder if she did walk off and fell in a crevice somewhere on boxhill and that’s why no one’s come forward as no one no’s anything ?
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I suspect that Surrey Police are simply using an excuse to send Ben away as they have previously stated that it is a missing person's case. In such cases it is common to retain the possibility that a crime has occurred and is the perfect reason to deter enquiries. I would also be amazed if it is being treated as a crime based on any known information. Mark Williams-Thomas has been all over this case as a journalist, was the FLO for Surrey Police on this case when a policeman and has a huge grudge against Surrey Police. If there were any real evidence to indicate a crime he would have been shouting it. None of this means there has not been a crime - just that the police are as in the dark as we are and are preserving that possible path. I am equally sure, based on Williams-Thomas silence, that the police do not and never have had anyone they consider a serious suspect. He could not have resisted using such information.