The family of Vicky Glass, who was murdered just days after her 21st birthday, have renewed their appeal for information, 26 years after her body was found in a North Yorkshire stream. Her mother, Deborah, died without ever learning who was responsible for her daughter's death.
Disappearance and discovery
Vicky vanished in Middlesbrough, Teesside, in the early hours of September 24, 2000. Six weeks later, her body was discovered in a stream on North Yorkshire moorland, around 20 miles from where she was last seen. She was last seen at around 4am on Union Street in Middlesbrough, near its junction with Eshwood Square, after being dropped off by a taxi driver. Her body was found near the village of Danby on November 3, 2000.
Despite four arrests over the years, nobody has ever been charged with Vicky's murder. Detectives have examined more than 200 hours of CCTV footage during the investigation. Three people were arrested in previous years, while a fourth suspect, a 65-year-old man, was arrested in June this year and remains on police bail. Officers have also sought information about a lorry driver believed to have spoken to Vicky before she disappeared.
Family's emotional plea
In an emotional statement, Vicky's family said: "We have spoken about our pain year after year, how can we emphasise that this pain increases as the time goes on. It is vicious and brutal. It breaks us down, but it will never stop us from fighting for Vicky, to keep asking for your help, to get answers, to get justice for Vicky."
They added: "Our grief intensifies, it's not only grieving her life being taken, we grieve for the woman she could have been if she was still here with us, the chance for change was ripped from her. We grieve for our family, for who we could have been, a family with Vicky with us.
"We mourn every single day, not being able to talk to her, go shopping with her, sitting around a table with her having a family meal, laughing with her, making memories with her, all the small things that are taken for granted we do not have. We were not given that chance."
Investigation details
In 2021, a detailed review of the original murder investigation was carried out after it failed to find Vicky's murderer. The review included that a reinvestigation should be undertaken. In 2022, Cleveland Police released CCTV footage showing Vicky, who was a sex worker, with a friend. She was wearing light-coloured trousers and a top, white trainers and a dark puffer-style jacket. After speaking to her friend, detectives learned that Vicky had spoken to a lorry driver who gave her money. Police said she left personal belongings with him and agreed to meet him again later that day.
The driver was described as a white man with a broad build and a distinctive mole on his face. He was believed to have been aged between 34 and 38 at the time. On 8 August 2003, at an inquest into the woman's death, Dr Kenneth Shorrock, delivering a post-mortem examination, said he was unable to give a pathological cause of Vicky's death. The doctor described the difficulties he had in examining the badly decomposed body. Dr Shorrock revealed numerous parts of Glass's body were missing – including a number of her major organs and bones.
At the inquest, coroner Michael Oakley said: "We don't know how she came to be where she was found, we don't know the cause of death as whether there was a third party directly or indirectly involved in her death."
Appeal for information
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Chatterton, who is leading the investigation for Cleveland Police, urged anyone with information about Vicky's movements between her disappearance and the discovery of her body to contact officers. He said: "Vicky's family have longed for answers regarding her death and the person responsible for 26 years. As we continue to investigate Vicky's murder, we would again appeal for anyone with information regarding Vicky's whereabouts, between the last sighting of her and her body being found six weeks later, to contact us.
"Any information at all could assist us in finally bringing to justice the person who murdered Vicky Glass, and bringing an end to this nightmare for her family."
In a final appeal, her family said: "Our lives are plagued, there is a dark shadow that follows us, we can't get justice for Vicky on our own so we ask once again, we implore anyone with any information, big or small, to please come forward."
Anyone with information can contact Cleveland Police on 101 or the dedicated inquiry line on 01642 301773. Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
