Forty years after the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh, detectives say they remain "haunted" and warn they are running out of time to make a breakthrough. On July 28, 1986, the 25-year-old estate agent left work at 12.30pm and never returned. Her disappearance sparked one of the largest missing person investigations in the UK after she vanished in Fulham, west London. Although she was legally declared presumed dead in 1993, Metropolitan Police detective chief inspector Teresa Foster said her team's wish remains to "bring Suzy home".
The day of her disappearance
On the day she vanished, Miss Lamplugh had an appointment with a mysterious "Mr Kipper" at a property in Fulham. Her company car was later found abandoned on a nearby road. Foster said: "It haunts myself as the senior investigating officer, and I think that comes down to the fact that Suzy's never been found." She added: "With a lot of our cases we do have an answer for the family, we know where they were, we know what happened to them. But with this, Suzy never being found, and it haunts us. We don't have a case like this within my team."
Case to become inactive
The inquiry is the only Metropolitan Police case that still uses the old 1980s card index system. The force plans to move it to an "inactive phase" in 12 months, meaning the team will no longer actively work on it, though new information will still be followed up.
John Cannan, the prime suspect, died in prison in November 2024 while serving a sentence for the 1987 murder of Bristol newlywed Shirley Banks. Police presented a file of evidence to prosecutors in 2002, but there was not enough to charge him with Suzy's murder, and no forensic evidence has ever linked him to her disappearance. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of material from the headrest of her car seat in the US yielded no profile, and a smudged fingerprint on the rear-view mirror remains unidentified.
AI and forensics could help
Foster said breakthroughs in AI or forensics could hold the key, or if people with information come forward. She recalled that Suzy's story even made news in her small New Zealand hometown. "Bringing somebody to justice is always going to be difficult when it's 40 years (on). We will rely on forensics, but for us, the most important thing is finding Suzy and bringing Suzy home." She added: "I'm quite excited about what's happening in the artificial intelligence world. It could change any murder investigation, but most especially a cold case with all the documents that we have."
She also noted that "change of allegiance, family members coming forward, even after 40 years" could help, citing two recent Met cases where family members provided crucial information.
Previous searches and family tribute
One informant claimed police ignored his report of a man throwing something into the Grand Union Canal, but the cold case team is confident that stretch was searched in 2014 during the Alice Gross inquiry with no relevant findings. Other searches over land in Worcestershire and West Midlands in 2010, 2018, and 2019 yielded nothing.
Miss Lamplugh's parents founded the Suzy Lamplugh Trust to champion women's safety. Her siblings Lizzie, Tamsin and Richard released previously unpublished photos for the 40th anniversary, saying: "She was, as she is always portrayed, a truly beautiful person inside and out. Everyone who met Suz was touched by her kindness, empathy, strength of character and joy for life." They added: "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. We are incredibly proud of the trust's work in driving change, influencing policy and supporting victims-survivors."
