There is a new painting on the wall in Lynda Chapman's home. It was not there two years ago, but the strikingly attractive face is instantly recognisable as that of her mother. Isabella Skelton, known as 'Izzy', vanished on the evening of June 5, 1969. Greater Manchester Police believe the then 35-year-old was murdered. Today, Lynda remains stoically determined to find out who killed her and where her remains lie.
'I am not just going to let her rot. It is not happening,' she says just hours before another 57th anniversary of her mother's disappearance. Lynda had never got the chance to say goodbye to her mother. When she got ready for school on the morning of June 6, 1969, she recalls her father telling her that her mother had gone away for work. Isabella left behind three children—Lynda, Stephen, and Richard—and a husband, Lewis. On the day she was last seen, Stephen, then ten, was in hospital with a broken leg, and it was just two weeks before Lynda's 15th birthday.
Recalling the day her mother disappeared, Lynda, now 71, said: 'It was a Friday, and there was only me and my dad. I would have been getting ready for school. He just said my mum had gone away to work somewhere—for a job. I didn't understand what he meant. Was she coming back? My youngest brother, Stephen, was in hospital with a broken leg that day. My first instinct, as a child, was 'why, it's my birthday in two weeks'.' She said her dad never spoke about her mother vanishing, regarding it as a 'taboo subject'. The pair have now been estranged for 13 years.
Following her disappearance, there was only one potential sighting of Isabella on Glasgow's Buchanan Street, but the lead went nowhere. On Friday, Lynda issued a fresh appeal as it emerged that a team of experts had excavated a plot of land in Crumpsall in a new bid to find Isabella's remains. The search last summer was organised by charity Locate International but did not result in any significant find.
Carried out by specialist forensic geoscience and archaeology staff and master's students from the University of Lancashire and Keele University, Lynda contributed hundreds of pounds of her own money towards its cost. She told the Manchester Evening News she had 'an instinct' that the land might give up a clue as to the demise of her mother. Her family had rented one of the garages when living in Lidiard Street. 'It was hard being down there, I will say—it was an emotional thing: Will there be something, won't there be something?' said Lynda, who visited the site every day alongside the volunteers. 'But now I'm not wondering about this site any more, at least I know I can rule it out. I'm one of these people who will keep fighting for answers until I get there. While I'm breathing, I'm going to keep going. My mum deserves it—she was a lovely person.'
The land was where a row of garages had once stood behind Lidiard Street, the location of Isabella's home at the time of her disappearance. In 2021, GMP conducted a 12-week search of the house the family lived in, but nothing was found. Isabella, Lynda later learned, was said to have left the family home with two suitcases on the night of June 5. But an exhaustive search over the years found no trace of her.
In her search for answers, Lynda has been helped by Joan Grant from the charity Missing Persons UK and Beyond. 'She has been to registry offices and has helped us immensely to find out where different families are that might give us a clue as to what happened.' On the day Isabella disappeared, The Beatles were at Number One with 'Get Back'. Lynda believes there may have been a free spirit within Isabella desperate to escape a less than perfect marriage, but she also believes her mother may have been killed.
'There is no sign of her drawing her pension, she has not seen a doctor, nobody has seen sight or sound of her since 1969. She didn't go to her brother's wedding. I can't see her not contacting us. I can understand her wanting to go because I realise now it was not a normal home, I can understand her saying she's had enough and she left. But at the end of the day she would not go and never contact us.' Lynda made the difficult decision to check out a suggestion that Isabella had been having an affair at the time. She traced the son of the man she was supposed to have had a relationship with. 'I did feel awful asking him if it was true and he said 'it never happened'. I don't think he would lie—I believe him.'
The walls of Lynda's home are adorned with photographs of her own children and grandchildren. But at the bottom of the stairs is a black and white picture of an attractive young woman with three children. It is Isabella, with her two sons and daughter. It is the only picture Lynda has of her mum with her and her siblings, given to her by Isabella's youngest brother, Alec. Isabella had six siblings: Alec, George, Henry, James, Mary, and Jean. Only Alec is still alive.
The Skelton family moved from Glasgow to Greater Manchester in the early 1960s, first living in Adrian Street, off Regent Road, Salford, then moving to Crumpsall. It is believed Isabella attended school in Anderson Cross, Scotland. She was born Isabella McDowall on January 21, 1934, and married Lewis Skelton in July 1952. Lynda started looking for her mum after having her second child, a daughter, in 1975. 'We went to Scotland, we went through the electoral roll, we went through all the McDowalls in the telephone directory to see if we could find any other relations.' Lynda has used genealogy in a bid to trace her mother, placed newspaper adverts, worked with the Salvation Army and the charity Missing People, and placed Isabella's details on the Doe Network in America.
'At Christmas and on birthdays we do remember her. My mum didn't have a relationship where she brought friends to the house or had girly days out like I did. Wherever my mum went my dad went. He would pick her up, or she would get the 27 bus home from Victoria Bus Station.' Lynda admits that although both her parents provided for their children, she felt the family lacked the love and affection she found when starting her own family. 'My dad was work orientated—I can understand that we needed money. My mum did not have a lot of time either, as she worked Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday was catch-up time and they would go to a Labour Club in Crumpsall and for a dance on a Saturday night. My mum's family were too far away and she never had a social life really. She and I used to go down Lower Broughton Road shopping and at Salford market. My mum did everything for us. As far as I was concerned we were a normal family.'
But she found 'a different kind of loving' with her own family. 'I have found something which I didn't know I didn't have as a child,' she adds. But as the years pass, the love she has for Isabella has not diminished. 'I think of her every day,' she said. 'My grandchildren ask who she is when they see her picture and the painting of her that my daughter had done for me for my 70th birthday. She always made sure her appearance was good, and the house was always clean and tidy. She did a job and looked after us all. My father was a long-distance lorry driver for Great Universal based in Trafford Park. I do believe someone has killed her because there is no other answer. None of her family heard from her. I am not going to give up. I am hurting and the questions need answering. I offered to put a reward but was told that was not appropriate by the police as it could result in time-wasting and mischievous calls being made. If searching for the answer takes me to my grave so be it.'
One man has been interviewed under caution by GMP on suspicion of Isabella's murder, but no one has been charged. Greater Manchester Police said in a statement: 'We are working in close contact with Locate International in relation to the disappearance of Isabella Skelton. Whilst nothing was found at a prior search in Crumpsall, this does not mean the case is closed. Our thoughts continue to be with Isabella's family and our appeal for any information remains open. We have exhausted all possible lines of enquiry thus far, but if any new information comes to light, we will investigate thoroughly. Anyone with information is urged to call GMP Cold Case Unit on 0161 856 5978, or report via the LiveChat function on our website. Alternatively, reports can be made anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.'
Greater Manchester Police's Force Review Officer, Martin Bottomley, said in a fresh statement: 'My thoughts will always remain with Isabella's children, who for decades have felt left in the dark over the disappearance of their mother. In 2019, Isabella was reported missing by her family. She was last seen in 1969. An investigation was immediately launched into her disappearance, and in October 2020, a man was interviewed under caution on suspicion of the murder of Isabella, but to this date, no one has been charged. In 2021, 12 weeks of excavation work was carried out by officers at a property in Crumpsall, Isabella's last known address. However, no human remains or findings which may have proved significant to the investigation were located. Regardless of the time passed, we are committed to following all lines of enquiry so that we can provide Isabella's family with the answers they deserve. We're continuing to appeal for any information the public may hold. No matter how small it may seem, it could be the missing piece we are looking for.'
