‘I investigated one of Britain’s most notorious missing person cases – I never gave up’ – UK Times

For years, former detective Mike Barley hoped to say one of two things to the parents of Suzy Lamplugh.

“Those two lines were ‘one we found her’, or two, ‘we’ve got it’,” he said.

“We used to sit with Paul and Diana and not be able to deliver those two lines. I watched them age over the years, constantly saying to them, ‘I’m sorry, there’s nothing new’.”

It is forty years on Tuesday since Suzy, a 25-year-old estate agent, left her Fulham office to meet a client under the name “Mr Kipper” and never returned. She was legally declared dead in 1993.

Her parents died without the answers to one of Britain’s most notorious missing person cases, which is set to be mothballed in 12 months.

Suzy’s disappearance inspired her family friends Mary Asprey and Janet Newman to launch the charity Missing People, which Mr Barley describes as one of the few positives that came out of the case.

The Independent joined forces with the charity in November to spread awareness of children who have gone missing and help launch SafeCall – a free and confidential support service designed to keep young people safe.

Thanks to the support of our readers and the backing of former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, former footballer Sir David Beckham, mother of missing Madeleine, Kate McCann, and many others, the helpline was launched in January after an incredible £165,000 was raised.

Mr Barley, who spent 12 years working on the Lamplugh investigation as a Met Police detective chief inspector, has recently published the book Suzy Lamplugh: The Inside Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Missing Person Investigation.

He has told The Independent of how he always lived in hope of getting answers for Suzy’s family, and says no case in his 25-year career has stayed with him more than hers.

At around 10.30pm on 28 July 1986, he was heading to bed when another detective rang his landline.

“‘Mike, we’ve got a missing person here, it doesn’t feel right. You’d better come in, meet me at Stevenage Road’,” Mr Barley was told.

He arrived to find Suzy’s white Ford Fiesta abandoned, with the driver’s door open, the handbrake off, her purse still inside the door pocket, and the keys missing.

That day, she was supposed to be meeting the mysterious client at a nearby property in Shorrolds Road.

“At the end of that first day, we knew that Suzy had left her office at around 12.40pm, we knew that her car had been found at 10.01pm, and we knew that she hadn’t been seen since,” he said.

“Really, strictly speaking, 40 years on, we still only know those same three things.”

John Cannan remains the prime suspect in the case, but died in prison in 2024 and was never charged.

In October of 1987, he was arrested for the murder of Bristol newlywed Shirley Banks, whose Mini was found in his garage, repainted and fitted with a false number plate SLP386S.

“The inference was that the letters SLP stood for Suzy Lamplugh,” Mr Barley said.

In what he describes as his most unforgettable moment in the investigation, he went to interview Cannan in prison in 1990 after he was jailed for Banks’ murder the previous year.

“I said, ‘So why did you choose those [numberplate] letters in that particular order, John?’ And he said, ‘Let me tell you something about that car, that car belongs to a Bristol businessman, and he’s the man who killed Suzy Lamplugh, Shirley Banks, and another girl’.

“I said, ‘Was that man you, John?’ And he said, ‘Yes’, and then he went, ‘No, no, no, I’ve met him. I don’t know who he is. I’ve met him’.

“For that briefest moment in time, I firmly believe John Cannan was telling the truth.”

Mr Barley tried to recover that moment, but it was gone forever. He believes that Cannan is responsible for the abduction and murder of Suzy, but says his “belief isn’t proof, and there’s a huge gap between suspicion and proof.”

One of Cannan’s girlfriends, Gilly Paige, then claimed that he had driven her to Norton Barracks, Worcestershire, and told her Suzy was buried there. She later denied that he ever confessed to her murder.

Mr Barley urged his force to search the area at the time, but it did not go ahead.

Following further information and a review of the case, police launched a search of the site in 2000, but found no evidence.

But Mr Barley said the force had searched the wrong area, and the correct site had already been developed into a housing estate.

“Suzy was never born to be a case to be investigated,” he said. “She should be 65, probably with a family, maybe with grandchildren. She’s missed out on all that. Her family is still suffering, grieving.”

He said Missing People was a charity that was “very much needed”, and is “one of the really good things that has come out of this particular tragic event.”

Interim chief executive Ross Miller said: “Suzy’s disappearance became the catalyst for something that continues to make a difference today. When Suzy disappeared, there was no support for families with a missing loved one, and no way for a missing person to reach out for help in confidence.

“Inspired by the search for Suzy, sisters Mary Asprey and Janet Newman and a team of volunteers founded what would become Missing People, creating a lifeline for people facing the unimaginable. Today, Missing People continues that same mission.”

Suzy’s parents set up The Suzy Lamplugh Trust in the wake of her disappearance to champion women’s safety.

On Tuesday, it launched a campaign calling for urgent action to ensure victims of stalking, harassment and abuse receive appropriate protection and access to justice.

In a statement issued through the charity, her family said: “She was, as she is always portrayed, a truly beautiful person inside and out.

“Within months of her disappearance, our parents founded the Suzy Lamplugh Trust with a vision to help create a world where everyone can live free from violence, aggression and fear.”

Met Police detective chief inspector Teresa Foster said: “The investigation into the disappearance and murder of Suzy Lamplugh remains open, and is one of the oldest cases in the Met.

“They have shown remarkable strength despite everything they have endured and we will never give up hope that we can find the answers they deserve.”

Please donate now to The Independent and Missing People’s SafeCall campaign, which has raised £165,000 to create a free, nationwide service helping vulnerable children find safety and support.

For advice, support and options if you or a child you love goes missing, contact safecall.org.uk

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust is inviting people to join and donate to its #40YearsShouldHaveBeenEnough campaign.