Found Deceased UK - Sally Allan, 59, Ponteland, Northumberland, 26 December 2015

[Bewick Lady]

Sally is an avid power walker and loves to walk the routes along the River Tyne. Talking to walkers it appears that the route Sally took is quite often used by some. Walk to Newcastle, walk over the footbridge and return on the opposite side of the river.

People have made comments about her gait. I wonder if she has socks on. It may sound silly but perhaps she didn't put any one which caused blisters?

 

[Patience]

I agree that Sally is walking fast and with purpose even after three hours. I would be exhausted. It's very worrisome that she has been missing for a week now.

Thank you to our friends in the UK who are posting as your insight and updates are invaluable.

Here re is an article from yesterday.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/missing-mum-sally-allan-went-7099518

​

A woman missing since Boxing Day enjoyed a glass of sherry and watched Fawlty Towers hours before her disappearance.
Mum of three Sally Allan, 59, was last seen at her £400,000 home at 3am on Boxing Day morning.
Police have now said they can trace her movements by CCTV before the final reported sighting of her at Newcastle Quayside - an 11 mile walk in total - at 6.10am.
At the time of her disappearance she is believed to have been wearing pink pyjamas, a cream fleece and a cream waterproof jacket.
Mrs Allan’s husband Gordon, 60, said the couple had celebrated a normal Christmas with the family at their home in Ponteland, Northumberland.
PA

Missing since Boxing Day: Sally Allan“This is totally out of character for Sally to do something like this and we have never been apart from each other for long at all.” he said.
“The family were all together over Christmas and had a lovely time and for this to happen is just devastating.

 

[Cherwell]

Problem is that is a DM article and their reporters are not known to be accurate - the comment by Sally's daughter in the comments section bears clear proof of this.

That's a good point Rach, if the reporting is correct then calling the police is an unusual first reaction. I assume she didn't take her mobile so I can see why he didn't call that but to check with the children would seem a more likely starting point. I haven't seem anything about whether she had a car but no mention of checking that.

People often make wrong assumptions based on what's not been said. My golden rule with media reporting is to remember that if it's not mentioned, that doesn't mean it didn't happen. This can also apply to police announcements.

interviews with people who talk about Sally in the past tense which I find odd. Well, I do and I don't find it odd - if there's a strong theory based on reasons we're not aware of then the past tense makes sense, I guess my hinky meter just wibbles a bit at past tense references!

I think it's often just the mark of a pessimistic outlook or loss of hope, although in some cases it can be revealing.

 

[Patience]

There is a #Search4Sally Twitter account. I'll try to post the link, hope it works.
[video=twitter;682915229462872064]https://twitter.com/search4sally/status/682915229462872064[/video]

 

[suzyjackson]

I'm really pleased to see some new posters joining Sally's thread.

I think the stumbling block here is that there seems to be no shortage of CCTV footage up river of the Copthorne Hotel but after the clip the police have released she seems to have vanished into thin air.

I know I keep saying that disappearances near the River Tyne never end well but I as much as I try I can't think where else she can have gone that wouldn't have been captured on film. Reading the comments on the facebook page it seems that there are numerous cameras in that area, I don't understand why nothing more has been picked up.

 

[suzyjackson]

People often make wrong assumptions based on what's not been said. My golden rule with media reporting is to remember that if it's not mentioned, that doesn't mean it didn't happen. This can also apply to police announcements.



I think it's often just the mark of a pessimistic outlook or loss of hope, although in some cases it can be revealing.

I agree with you about the police announcements but I'm not sure I do about the loss of hope. I think families cling to the hope their loved one is alive and wouldn't talk in the past tense until they were sure someone was no longer alive.

In this case I don't see any foul play so I'm putting this down to confusion or lazy reporting imo

 

[suzyjackson]

Sally is an avid power walker and loves to walk the routes along the River Tyne. Talking to walkers it appears that the route Sally took is quite often used by some. Walk to Newcastle, walk over the footbridge and return on the opposite side of the river.

People have made comments about her gait. I wonder if she has socks on. It may sound silly but perhaps she didn't put any one which caused blisters?

Good point about the socks, I wonder if she's wearing any.

ime a blister would slow my walking down but I agree if she didn't have any socks on blisters would definitely be likely after 3 hours

 

[suzyjackson]

Good observation. Gives me a little bit hope. If she wanted to harm herself by going into the river she could have done that already in Newburn instead of walking the 5 or 6 extra miles over to Newcastle Quayside.

I agree, I wouldn't presume to know how someone who wants to harm themselves might act but it does seem strange but maybe the river isn't deep enough or acessible enough at Newburn. I assume she could just slip over the edge and float away or jump from one of the bridges further downstream

 

[Gem2626]

The CCTV video has been updated on the Search 4 Sally Facebook page to show in real time.

I have a few thoughts on this case, which I hope to ramble on about when I have more than a few minutes... Hoping she's found safe.

 

[charminglane]

Do we know if this was a favorite route walk of Sally's?

 

[blefuscu]

If she were wanting to go in the river then I think she would head to the Tyne Bridge tbh rather than go in at Newburn. There's plenty of bars and businesses further along the Quayside that should have picked her up if she was walking along the Tyne. The fact that there hasn't been any more released worries me. It can take a couple of weeks to recover bodies from the Tyne and it's a tidal river too so someone can get easily snagged in the water and not be released from whatever has caught them for a few days. Nothing seems positive about this case to me

 

[badhorsie]

The new CCTV image posted is in "real time" Sally appears to be walking purposefully at a normal pace.
Praying that she is found soon...

 

[suzyjackson]

The CCTV video has been updated on the Search 4 Sally Facebook page to show in real time.

I have a few thoughts on this case, which I hope to ramble on about when I have more than a few minutes... Hoping she's found safe.

I don't want to be critical of the police but why on Earth would they not have made sure the footage was at the right speed before they released it?

The actual speed one gives a very different picture, I've only watched it once but it seems to me that at the end of the clip she has almost slowed to a stop. IMO this puts a very different slant on things, she almost looks so weary that she could have easily slipped or tripped and fallen into the river.

We know that Sally is a keen walker but even so having set off in the middle of the night when she would still be tired IMO and walking 10 miles as a good pace she could easily just be exhausted. I haven't seen any comment on whether Sally had been drinking on Christmas Day but it wouldn't be at all surprising that she might be hung over too. jmo

 

[Cherwell]

I agree with you about the police announcements but I'm not sure I do about the loss of hope. I think families cling to the hope their loved one is alive and wouldn't talk in the past tense until they were sure someone was no longer alive.

In this case I don't see any foul play so I'm putting this down to confusion or lazy reporting imo

Yes, I wasn't referring only to the family, but to friends and neighbours who also get interviewed in such cases.

I see the husband is quoted as saying "she is" and "she was" in the same sentence, and it's not always easy to distinguish either from "she's". People don't always speak clearly, especially when upset.

 

[Bewick Lady]

Do we know if this was a favorite route walk of Sally's?

I would think Sally has walked this route before, how many times is anyones guess. What has been said numerous times she loves to walk along the River.

 

[blefuscu]

I would think Sally has walked this route before, how many times is anyones guess. What has been said numerous times she loves to walk along the River.

I would think many many people use this part of the river from Newburn along to the Quayside. It's popular with runners, walkers, cyclists and families. If she was anywhere on the Quayside she would have been found already. Whereas if she was in the river itself it may take longer.

 

[bluesneakers]

She's walking with so much determination and seems so sure of where she's going, which I would understand if it were 3pm and she had somewhere to be. But at 3am? I can't make sense of it.

I sometimes go for walks at midnight (insomnia) after my husband is asleep. I wonder if she went out at 3am other nights and no one knew because she got home before he woke up.

 

[Bewick Lady]

I don't want to be critical of the police but why on Earth would they not have made sure the footage was at the right speed before they released it?

The actual speed one gives a very different picture, I've only watched it once but it seems to me that at the end of the clip she has almost slowed to a stop. IMO this puts a very different slant on things, she almost looks so weary that she could have easily slipped or tripped and fallen into the river.

We know that Sally is a keen walker but even so having set off in the middle of the night when she would still be tired IMO and walking 10 miles as a good pace she could easily just be exhausted. I haven't seen any comment on whether Sally had been drinking on Christmas Day but it wouldn't be at all surprising that she might be hung over too. jmo

I read somewhere that her husband said it was not unusual for Sally to up early/during the night (not the exact words). I wonder if she woke early, decided to go for a stroll to clear her head. Maybe ended up going further than first planned, sadly had an accident on her way home.

I can speak for how swollen the river was at Newburn on Boxing Day but crossing Corbridge, Ovingham and Wyalm bridges the rivers were still swollen from flooding.

I agree with the you the newest slowed down CCTV gave me a different sight of things. Towards the top of the pathway it looks like she pauses before deciding which way to go next.

Nina the lady she spoke to early hours of Boxing Day at Newburn Bridge claims that Sally appeared pleasant and apologised for startling her, patted the dog. Nina also noticed how quickly she walked. If my memory serves me rightly she also made comment about how Sallys arm swings.

 

[Bewick Lady]

I would think many many people use this part of the river from Newburn along to the Quayside. It's popular with runners, walkers, cyclists and families. If she was anywhere on the Quayside she would have been found already. Whereas if she was in the river itself it may take longer.

Sadly, I have to agree with you. I remember a few years ago a young boy fell into the river at Wylam when it was swollen. It took several days before his body was recovered. Almost at the same place where he went into the water but got tangled in reeds etc.

 

[blefuscu]

Newcastle is such a relatively small city, I just find it hard to believe that a woman could be around the city in a coat and pyjamas and no-one has seen her since Boxing Day. This is national news here now. Hospitals (and psych hospitals) in the area would be looking out for her. There are plenty of hotels around but they would be booked up between Christmas and new year. I'm trying to think where Sally could have gone. And I'm coming up blank. It's big news in the area. Sadly I just think she's gone into the river at the Quayside.