UK UK - Iwona Kaminska, 20, London, 13 July 2000, four days after arriving from Poland.

[Triss]

Bumping

 

[jiggerbam]

Just had a look at Iwona’s missing persons’ report online. Was it confirmed that she got to work the day she disappeared? And if so, I read somewhere that there was CCTV of her leaving for work but not exiting her work? So have there been any updates of her boss or colleagues that day, if any of them have been questioned? An article I head read simply says she disappeared from a ‘Hammersmith address’ and does not mention her work place. Any idea what her place of work was called? Might be able to trace the owner of the time?

 

[RobinCAL]

I'm glad this thread was made and I hope the families have their questions answered soon. Such a sad story

 

[jiggerbam]

Researched a few Polish shops around King Street in Hammersmith at the time of Iwona’s disappearance. Unsure if Iwona worked in a specific Polish shop or if it was just owned by Polish, but swaying towards the former as Iwona did not know a lot of English.
Iwona was meant to catch the 220 bus from Hammersmith to Wandsworth, and from what I can gather failed to do so.
The journey from the (approximate) place of her work would have been a walking distance of around 11 minutes.
Google Maps

The 220 bus from Hammersmith goes from stop C to Wandsworth.
If Iwona did not get to the bus station, but was at work that day, something happened between leaving work and getting to the bus station.

 

[dotr]

re-post
Jan 22 2016
Missing woman case treated as murder
"Ms Kaminska arrived in London on 9 July and quickly found a job at a Polish-owned business on King Street in Hammersmith, west London.

She was staying with a friend who lived near the Arndale Centre in Wandsworth, and was seen on CCTV leaving for work on the morning of 13 July.

Ms Kaminska spent the day packing glasses and was due to meet a friend at 19:00 BST in Wandsworth, but never turned up.

She would have been expected to catch the 220 bus from Hammersmith bus station.

Ms Kaminska was described as white, 5ft 2in (157cm) tall, slim and with light brown, shoulder-length hair. She was last seen wearing dark trousers and a dark green knee-length jacket, and carrying a small black leather handbag."
Police offer £10,000 in hunt for Polish student Iwona Kaminska who disappeared in 2000

Police believe Iwona Kaminska, who went missing in London in 2000, may have been the victim of a kidnap-murder

Police offer £10,000 in hunt for Polish student Iwona Kaminska who disappeared in 2000

Evening Standard

 

[Al Ka]

Just had a look at Iwona’s missing persons’ report online. Was it confirmed that she got to work the day she disappeared? And if so, I read somewhere that there was CCTV of her leaving for work but not exiting her work? So have there been any updates of her boss or colleagues that day, if any of them have been questioned? An article I head read simply says she disappeared from a ‘Hammersmith address’ and does not mention her work place. Any idea what her place of work was called? Might be able to trace the owner of the time?

Welcome to Websleuths jiggerbam. All the questions you have asked are answered in this thread. I recommend to read it all, its only 3 pages.

 

[Triss]

Missing for 20 years. I'm still hoping for a happy ending.

 

[Al Ka]

Missing for 20 years. I'm still hoping for a happy ending.

Times fly so fast. She is a often on my mind too. I really wish police would review her case.

As it is 20 years hopefully some news will picked up her story again.

 

[pucibobo]

Bumping, as I've never heard of this and she's my native.

 

[Triss]

Bumping, as I've never heard of this and she's my native.

She's my native too and she's often on my mind. Check out Zaginieni przed laty on Facebook, they recently wrote a post about her with a lot of information (in Polish). I wish her case received more publicity when she went missing 20 years ago. So very sad.

 

[dotr]

Wondering if the police might now find a link with these other missing young women?

MAN QUIZZED OVER MISSING IRISH GIRL; POLICE FEAR TIPPERARY WOMAN MAY BE VICTIM OF A SERIAL KILLER. - Free Online Library
''Three other girls have disappeared in the same 'west London triangle'. Elizabeth Chau, 19, was last seen walking past a police station in West Ealing. Lola Shenkoya, a US citizen, has not been seen since January when she took a bus to Ealing Broadway

However, police have still not linked the disappearance of Polish student Iwona Kaminska, 20, to the inquiry.''

Ws thread..
UK - UK - Elizabeth Chau, 19, & Lola Shenkoya, 27, West Ealing, 1999/2000

 

[dotr]

This guy is certainly a "beast" but is he responsible for Iwona's disappearance, if so- where did he hide her? speculation.

Rapist dubbed 'Beast of Poland' | Daily Mail Online
''April 2004
Paedophile Andrezej Kunowski has been branded the "Beast of Poland" in his home country.

His crimes in his homeland spanned more than 20 years of preying on young schoolgirls and teenagers - yet incredibly he was even allowed out of jail for "good behaviour".

Born in the small rural market town of Mlawa, in the rolling Polish countryside he received sentences of more than 30 years for his crimes.

Yet he was repeatedly released early - or escaped

from jail, a number of times to rape and rape again.

Eventually he fled to the UK where he was to eventually kill.''


Murderpedia.org
BBC NEWS | UK | England | London | Polish link solves girl's murder

Kunowski was caught on camera running away

BBC N
March, 2004 rbbm.
''Kunowski never stood trial for the rape of the Warsaw girl as he was released on bail for health reasons and fled to England where he would strike twice again.

It also emerged that Kunowski had attacked another 27 women and children in Poland, mostly in the north eastern town of Mlawa, where he was a driver for a construction company.

He committed his first rape at 17, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

He came to England in 1996 where he disappeared from sight after being refused asylum.

Police from the UK's serious crime directorate are now investigating offences across Europe where women have gone missing to see if they may be linked to Kunowski.''

 

[Al Ka]

Wondering if the police might now find a link with these other missing young women?

MAN QUIZZED OVER MISSING IRISH GIRL; POLICE FEAR TIPPERARY WOMAN MAY BE VICTIM OF A SERIAL KILLER. - Free Online Library
''Three other girls have disappeared in the same 'west London triangle'. Elizabeth Chau, 19, was last seen walking past a police station in West Ealing. Lola Shenkoya, a US citizen, has not been seen since January when she took a bus to Ealing Broadway

However, police have still not linked the disappearance of Polish student Iwona Kaminska, 20, to the inquiry.''

Ws thread..
UK - UK - Elizabeth Chau, 19, & Lola Shenkoya, 27, West Ealing, 1999/2000

This article is from 20 years ago. From my fuzzy memory the girl mentioned in the article as missing, Sinead, was found murdered few month later with body found near highway outside of London. Her lover was arrested and charged after she was found.

So despite many articles her case was not connected.

 

[Al Ka]

This guy is certainly a "beast" but is he responsible for Iwona's disappearance, if so- where did he hide her? speculation.

Rapist dubbed 'Beast of Poland' | Daily Mail Online
''April 2004
Paedophile Andrezej Kunowski has been branded the "Beast of Poland" in his home country.

His crimes in his homeland spanned more than 20 years of preying on young schoolgirls and teenagers - yet incredibly he was even allowed out of jail for "good behaviour".

Born in the small rural market town of Mlawa, in the rolling Polish countryside he received sentences of more than 30 years for his crimes.

Yet he was repeatedly released early - or escaped

from jail, a number of times to rape and rape again.

Eventually he fled to the UK where he was to eventually kill.''


Murderpedia.org
BBC NEWS | UK | England | London | Polish link solves girl's murder

Kunowski was caught on camera running away

BBC N
March, 2004 rbbm.
''Kunowski never stood trial for the rape of the Warsaw girl as he was released on bail for health reasons and fled to England where he would strike twice again.

It also emerged that Kunowski had attacked another 27 women and children in Poland, mostly in the north eastern town of Mlawa, where he was a driver for a construction company.

He committed his first rape at 17, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

He came to England in 1996 where he disappeared from sight after being refused asylum.

Police from the UK's serious crime directorate are now investigating offences across Europe where women have gone missing to see if they may be linked to Kunowski.''

Kunowski was proper beast but article stating that he striked only twice in UK, well I very much doubt that number as he committed rapes on weekly bases in Poland.

I still strongly suspect him in Iwona's case as he had ties to Hammersmith and even the same street where she worked however there could be numerous other scenarios what really happend to her.

With floor being dugged up in the shop she worked at, well, there must have been good reason for police doing that.

 

[Al Ka]

She's my native too and she's often on my mind. Check out Zaginieni przed laty on Facebook, they recently wrote a post about her with a lot of information (in Polish). I wish her case received more publicity when she went missing 20 years ago. So very sad.

Any new information? Would love to see that post.

Edit to add: I have found it. All the information and the photos there are already in this thread. I have not managed to read the comments yet.

Interestingly they are listing who is in charge of her case in Poland and where to send tips which I have not seen before. I am posting it here, just in case for any future reference or need.

LU CFR Janów Lubelski, 23-300 Janów Lubelski
ul. Zamoyski 92
phone: 15 10 87 210
email: dyzurni.kppjanowlubelski@lu.policja.gov.pl

Source - Zaginieni przed laty

 

[Al Ka]

My apology for overposting today. While reading comments in that FB post, even though nothing new there either I actually realized hmm small but important detail which could have impacted her case at that time.

This happened in 2000. Four years prior to Poland and Eastern Europe being member of the European Union. That means strict border controls when arriving and very restricted work permits for Eastern Europeans. While many were ok, there were also many already in UK with paperwork not in order and those avoided any contact with police at all costs.

This makes me wonder if some small details given to police might not have been too correct. But most importantly - witnesses - Iwona's friends - friend who called the police to file missing person's report and friends who supposed to meet her on that day at 4 or 7pm and any other people might not have been too forthcoming with information to police. Not for any nefarious reasons but simply for the fear of their status in the country and possibly deportation. And that fear was quite real. It's like being undocumented Mexican in America.

I know that there have been probably yearly reviews of Iwona's case but I do wonder if any of those people were re-interviewed anytime after 2004. I think it could make a difference and bring some more information in.

 

[Laughing]

A very similar storyline was used for two episodes of DCI Banks:

"DCI Banks" What Will Survive: Part 1 (TV Episode 2015) - IMDb

So sad, traveling to tragedy instead of the destination she sought!

JMHO YMMV LRR

 

[Triss]

23 years without any answers. Very sad.