UK UK - Valerie Haycock, 19, Piddington, Northamptonshire, 14 Jul 1967

[Desayama]

Valerie Haycock

Haycock, circa 1967

Missing Since: 14 July, 1967
Missing From: Piddington, Northamptonshire, England, UK
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 19-years-old
Height: Not given
Weight: Medium build
Clothing/Jewellery: Unknown
Distinguishing Characteristics: Unknown

Details of Disappearance

Valerie was last seen by her family boarding a bus from Northampton to Newport Pagnell and then to Luton in Bedfordshire.
Before she disappeared, Valerie told her family she was excited about a job she'd gotten as a nanny for a family living on a farm in the Luton area.
Her last bus journey was to visit this farm in Luton and begin her job.
Furthermore, around the time of her disappearance, Valerie had developed a close relationship with two Irishmen who were working on painting white lines on newly-constructed roads in Piddington, where she lived with her parents.
There's a possibility that Valerie ran away to Ireland with these men.
Authorities are investigating sightings in Ireland of Valerie but have not ruled out that she still remains in England.

Information Sources

Help us find Valerie Haycock
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Missing woman may be in Ireland
Missing for 35 years
Woman missing since 1967 'here' - Independent.ie

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Before she disappeared, Valerie told her family she was excited about a job she'd gotten as a nanny for a family living on a farm in the Luton area.
Her last bus journey was to visit this farm in Luton and begin her job.

I've been aware of Valerie's case for some time but wasn't aware she didn't have one hitherto here on WS. There does seem to be confusion here and it seems to me there are a number of possibilities.

1. Valerie got on the bus to travel to Luton. The report of her getting on the bus presumably came from her family, so should be a reliable one. Valerie did not arrive at her eventual destination and something happened to her on the jourey there. Disappearance - involuntary.

2. Valerie got on the bus to travel to Luton and arrived at her eventual destination with the family she was going to be working for. Something happened to her there and she is buried on the farm. Disappearance - involuntary.

3. Valerie arrived in Luton and worked for the family for some time before leaving for an unknown reason. Something happened to her subsequently, or she simply decided not to contact her family for some reason. Disappearance - reason undetermined.

4. Valerie either did not get on the bus or she travelled at least part of the way to Luton before returning to Northants but not making contact with her parents for some reason. Disappearance - likely voluntary.

What's not clear is whether the Irishmen were still in the area when Valerie supposedly left for Luton. It would help tremendously to have that timeline.

Incidentally, there are some parallels between Valerie's case and that of Elizabeth Swann, a 23 year old from Birmingham who disappeared in 1974 while hitch hiking to a new secretarial job in Gloucester. She has been looked at as a possible victim of the Wests but I don't know where the police are with that.

UK - UK - Elizabeth Swann, 23, Birmingham England, 1974

 

[Desayama]

I've been aware of Valerie's case for some time but wasn't aware she didn't have one hitherto here on WS. There does seem to be confusion here and it seems to me there are a number of possibilities.

1. Valerie got on the bus to travel to Luton. The report of her getting on the bus presumably came from her family, so should be a reliable one. Valerie did not arrive at her eventual destination and something happened to her on the jourey there. Disappearance - involuntary.

2. Valerie got on the bus to travel to Luton and arrived at her eventual destination with the family she was going to be working for. Something happened to her there and she is buried on the farm. Disappearance - involuntary.

3. Valerie arrived in Luton and worked for the family for some time before leaving for an unknown reason. Something happened to her subsequently, or she simply decided not to contact her family for some reason. Disappearance - reason undetermined.

4. Valerie either did not get on the bus or she travelled at least part of the way to Luton before returning to Northants but not making contact with her parents for some reason. Disappearance - likely voluntary.

What's not clear is whether the Irishmen were still in the area when Valerie supposedly left for Luton. It would help tremendously to have that timeline.

Incidentally, there are some parallels between Valerie's case and that of Elizabeth Swann, a 23 year old from Birmingham who disappeared in 1974 while hitch hiking to a new secretarial job in Gloucester. She has been looked at as a possible victim of the Wests but I don't know where the police are with that.

UK - UK - Elizabeth Swann, 23, Birmingham England, 1974

Thanks for your response! Valerie's case has so many potential leads and theories. I wonder if the police found the family farm or managed to contact Valerie's friends about the Irishmen? A lot of info to go on here.
Piddington and Luton are each only about an 1hr away from where the Blackwall UID was found, maybe something did go wrong at the farm or with the Irishmen and she was thrown into the Thames?

The River Lea flows into the Thames eventually, could her body have ended up all the way in Blackwall though?
The theories you mentioned are all within the realm of possibility and according to an article I linked above, Valerie's sister begged Rose West to reveal if Valerie was one of her victims but I don't think she was/Rose is hiding that information.
My only doubt with Valerie being one of the West's victims is that she wasn't hitchhiking, her family presumably saw her get on the bus, what reason would she have to hitchhike?
Thanks for linking Elizabeth's case, completely agree with you about her being a West victim, everything lines up there.

Blackwall UID = UK - Greater London, UnknownFem, 20, River Thames, Blackwall, Oct'67

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Thanks for your response! Valerie's case has so many potential leads and theories. I wonder if the police found the family farm or managed to contact Valerie's friends about the Irishmen?

Unfortunately we just don't know what enquiries were made.

Piddington and Luton are each only about an 1hr away from where the Blackwall UID was found, maybe something did go wrong at the farm or with the Irishmen and she was thrown into the Thames?

There are several places named Piddington, one in Northamptonshire where Valerie was from, one near High Wycombe in Bucks and one in Oxfordshire. You may be confusing the one near HW, which might well have been an hour or so away from Blackwall, with the one in Northants.

My only doubt with Valerie being one of the West's victims is that she wasn't hitchhiking, her family presumably saw her get on the bus, what reason would she have to hitchhike?
Thanks for linking Elizabeth's case, completely agree with you about her being a West victim, everything lines up there.

I don't think Valerie was a West victim as there is nothing to suggest they operated much outside Gloucestershire and parts of Herefordshire where Fred grew up. Although they have been looked at in connection with Elizabeth Swann, another name which has also been suggested in connection with the latter's disappearance is Peter Tobin who is known to have picked up hitch hikers across much of southern England and lived in a number of towns across the region. The information we have is that Valerie was travelling by bus, not hitching, and in any event Tobin was still living in Scotland at the time of Valerie's disappearance so I doubt he had anything to do with it.

That of course leaves aside the possibility that there were other serial killers operating at that time that we simply don't know about, or ones such as Sutcliffe who is now being looked at for crimes earlier than his first official murder. He is reportedly being looked at in relation to at least one murder of a young woman in London c1970 because he is known to have visited his future wife Sonia while she was studying there.

In terms of Valerie, it's hard to think back to her bus journey and how it might have been effected. Piddington in Northants is a village south of Northampton itself so it seems there are two likely options:

1. A local bus service from Piddington to Northampton and then the coach from Northampton to Luton via Milton Keynes, or

2. A localish bus service from Piddington to Milton Keynes (if Piddington was on the bus route) and then the coach or another bus from there to Luton.

This is one of those cases that could do with being covered by a good podcast as so much even basic information is missing.

 

[Desayama]

Yes, sorry about the confusion, the Piddington where Valerie lived is about 2hrs away from Blackwall, according to Google.
It seems like the police haven't managed to track down the two Irishmen and in my opinion, they are highly likely to be responsible for Valerie's disappearance in some way. Especially if the police had good reason to believe that Valerie would run away with them, her family must've known the relationship between the three was quite close.

There was coverage of her disappearance and the fact that the Irishmen seemed to disappear at the same time as Valerie and not respond to appeals for information seems suspicious. According to an above article, she was seen drinking in a pub with them both just before (assume a day or so before) her disappearance but in another it states she was seen a week after her disappearance in a pub with the two men? Confusion as to which one it is. These men hold the key to what happened to Valerie.

If it was a serial killer, I can't find any other cases that could be potentially linked.

I think #1 in terms of transport makes more sense

We somehow need to find out more information from authorities

 

[sonz82]

I don't believe she was killed by west or Tobin. I've read a lot of articles on her and its been unconfirmed that she either travelled to Ireland or the USA, which led me to look at her as a possible match to Valerie doe.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Valerie...this month is the 53rd anniversary of her disappearance.

 

[MrsWatson]

Her Doe Network file. Of note, 6 or possibly 7 sightings in IE? But I really don't take eyewitness sightings as fact, unless they are from someone who knows the person well.


The Doe Network: Case File 1239DFUK

 

[Cimatico]

restored photo source image The Doe Network: Case File 1239DFUK

 

[FrankenPine]

Hi, I'm hesitant to say anything, but I will do. I created an account literally for this reason. Valerie was my Great-Auntie, and she is still remembered in our family. Unfortunately, her two sisters have passed over now. But, I like to think that they're with Valerie now. My Grandma, when she was around, always believed that Valerie hadn't died, and that she was out there somewhere (in Ireland, probably, which is where their Mum was from). My other Great-Aunt believed that she was dead because Val wouldn't have gone somewhere without letting her know. The Irishmen may have been travellers, which would lead to them being assumed to be involved, just because of their ethnicity. It wasn't nesicarily uncommon to drink with strangers at a pub, especially for Val, who seemed to be a confident character. I want to remind people to speak with care and sympathy, especially when talking about the potential murder of Val. She was a vibrant character, and will always be missed. She has the same nose as my Grandma had, and as my Mum has, so I like to think she lives on that way at least

 

[FrankenPine]

Thanks for your response! Valerie's case has so many potential leads and theories. I wonder if the police found the family farm or managed to contact Valerie's friends about the Irishmen? A lot of info to go on here.
Piddington and Luton are each only about an 1hr away from where the Blackwall UID was found, maybe something did go wrong at the farm or with the Irishmen and she was thrown into the Thames?

The River Lea flows into the Thames eventually, could her body have ended up all the way in Blackwall though?
The theories you mentioned are all within the realm of possibility and according to an article I linked above, Valerie's sister begged Rose West to reveal if Valerie was one of her victims but I don't think she was/Rose is hiding that information.
My only doubt with Valerie being one of the West's victims is that she wasn't hitchhiking, her family presumably saw her get on the bus, what reason would she have to hitchhike?
Thanks for linking Elizabeth's case, completely agree with you about her being a West victim, everything lines up there.

Blackwall UID = UK - Greater London, UnknownFem, 20, River Thames, Blackwall, Oct'67

It wouldn't have been the UID that you linked, because Val wouldn't have dyed her hair brown. She had brown hair, everyone in the family does. I don't believe she was taken by another person. Or, if she was, it was done to well to know.

 

[MalthusXIII]

Hi, I'm hesitant to say anything, but I will do. I created an account literally for this reason. Valerie was my Great-Auntie, and she is still remembered in our family. Unfortunately, her two sisters have passed over now. But, I like to think that they're with Valerie now. My Grandma, when she was around, always believed that Valerie hadn't died, and that she was out there somewhere (in Ireland, probably, which is where their Mum was from). My other Great-Aunt believed that she was dead because Val wouldn't have gone somewhere without letting her know. The Irishmen may have been travellers, which would lead to them being assumed to be involved, just because of their ethnicity. It wasn't nesicarily uncommon to drink with strangers at a pub, especially for Val, who seemed to be a confident character. I want to remind people to speak with care and sympathy, especially when talking about the potential murder of Val. She was a vibrant character, and will always be missed. She has the same nose as my Grandma had, and as my Mum has, so I like to think she lives on that way at least

Hi FP....I tried to reply to this thread several months ago but had problems being able to register.
At long last, i've been able to get through!
Hope to make a few comments but firstly I think your two great aunties, Valerie's two sisters feature
in Part Two of Lost Girls, a Channel 4 documentary on You Tube.
Have you seen this very interesting video, it really expands on the comments you made here? b
Their names were Pat and Jean.

 

[MalthusXIII]

Valerie Haycock

Haycock, circa 1967

Missing Since: 14 July, 1967
Missing From: Piddington, Northamptonshire, England, UK
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 19-years-old
Height: Not given
Weight: Medium build
Clothing/Jewellery: Unknown
Distinguishing Characteristics: Unknown

Details of Disappearance

Valerie was last seen by her family boarding a bus from Northampton to Newport Pagnell and then to Luton in Bedfordshire.
Before she disappeared, Valerie told her family she was excited about a job she'd gotten as a nanny for a family living on a farm in the Luton area.
Her last bus journey was to visit this farm in Luton and begin her job.
Furthermore, around the time of her disappearance, Valerie had developed a close relationship with two Irishmen who were working on painting white lines on newly-constructed roads in Piddington, where she lived with her parents.
There's a possibility that Valerie ran away to Ireland with these men.
Authorities are investigating sightings in Ireland of Valerie but have not ruled out that she still remains in England.

Information Sources

Help us find Valerie Haycock
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Missing woman may be in Ireland
Missing for 35 years
Woman missing since 1967 'here' - Independent.ie

 

[MalthusXIII]

I've just responded to FrankenPine pointing out that Valerie's disappearance is featyyured on a Channel 4

Valerie Haycock

Haycock, circa 1967

Missing Since: 14 July, 1967
Missing From: Piddington, Northamptonshire, England, UK
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 19-years-old
Height: Not given
Weight: Medium build
Clothing/Jewellery: Unknown
Distinguishing Characteristics: Unknown

Details of Disappearance

Valerie was last seen by her family boarding a bus from Northampton to Newport Pagnell and then to Luton in Bedfordshire.
Before she disappeared, Valerie told her family she was excited about a job she'd gotten as a nanny for a family living on a farm in the Luton area.
Her last bus journey was to visit this farm in Luton and begin her job.
Furthermore, around the time of her disappearance, Valerie had developed a close relationship with two Irishmen who were working on painting white lines on newly-constructed roads in Piddington, where she lived with her parents.
There's a possibility that Valerie ran away to Ireland with these men.
Authorities are investigating sightings in Ireland of Valerie but have not ruled out that she still remains in England.

Information Sources

Help us find Valerie Haycock
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Missing woman may be in Ireland
Missing for 35 years
Woman missing since 1967 'here' - Independent.ie

I have just posted a comment to FrankenPine about Valerie's disappearance which features
on a Channel 4 documentary in Part 2 of Lost Girls. Her two sisters Pat and Jean are interviewed..../e It's a fascinating account.