Three people have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of missing teenager Sarah Benford.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/northamptonshire/3207919.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/northamptonshire/3207919.stm
UK UK - Sarah Benford, 14, Northhampton, 1 Apr 2000
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meggilyweggily
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Bumping for Sarah. I wish I could profile her on my site but I only do American cases -- I'd like to do foreign ones but I'm swamped as it is.
She has a sweet face. I don't know if I'm convinced that she's dead. I was just reading a book called "The Missing" by Andrew O'Hagen where he writes about British missing people -- not specific cases per se, but the phenomenon in general. Apparently there are a lot of people in England who are missing and don't know, or they do know and simply don't care. O'Hagen interviewed a girl who said she knew she was missing and had seen her posters, and didn't make a great deal of effort to hide herself, she just didn't use her real name and didn't call home. I wonder if Sarah might be in that faceless crowd. It's certainly better than the alternative. You can never give up hope.
She has a sweet face. I don't know if I'm convinced that she's dead. I was just reading a book called "The Missing" by Andrew O'Hagen where he writes about British missing people -- not specific cases per se, but the phenomenon in general. Apparently there are a lot of people in England who are missing and don't know, or they do know and simply don't care. O'Hagen interviewed a girl who said she knew she was missing and had seen her posters, and didn't make a great deal of effort to hide herself, she just didn't use her real name and didn't call home. I wonder if Sarah might be in that faceless crowd. It's certainly better than the alternative. You can never give up hope.
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UKMEC profile
Printable poster
SARAH BENFORD
Case Type:
DOB: 19-Mar-86
Missing Date: 31-Mar-00
Sex: Female
Age Now: 18
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
Weight: 0 lbs (0 kg) <----I guess it was unknown
Hair Colour: Blonde
Eye Colour: Blue
Missing City: NORTHAMPTON
Missing State :
Missing Country: United Kingdom
Case Number: UK34NP01
Circumstances: Sarah has not been seen since the end of March 2000 when she left home in Northampton. She is of slim/thin build with short hair that may be dyed blonde, but has also been dyed red before. Sarah has a self-made tattoo of a cross on the top of her left arm. It is now believed Sarah's appearance has changed to that of the second photograph.
ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
Northamptonshire Police
Police National Missing Persons Bureau - Freephone 0808 100 8777
Or Alternatively
Northamptonshire Police, Contact during office hours, Tel: 01604 888540, Out of office hours, Tel: 01604 703320
*the country code for the UK is 44*
With love and HOPE, Lanie
UKMEC profile
Printable poster
SARAH BENFORD
Case Type:
DOB: 19-Mar-86
Missing Date: 31-Mar-00
Sex: Female
Age Now: 18
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
Weight: 0 lbs (0 kg) <----I guess it was unknown
Hair Colour: Blonde
Eye Colour: Blue
Missing City: NORTHAMPTON
Missing State :
Missing Country: United Kingdom
Case Number: UK34NP01
Circumstances: Sarah has not been seen since the end of March 2000 when she left home in Northampton. She is of slim/thin build with short hair that may be dyed blonde, but has also been dyed red before. Sarah has a self-made tattoo of a cross on the top of her left arm. It is now believed Sarah's appearance has changed to that of the second photograph.
ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
Northamptonshire Police
Police National Missing Persons Bureau - Freephone 0808 100 8777
Or Alternatively
Northamptonshire Police, Contact during office hours, Tel: 01604 888540, Out of office hours, Tel: 01604 703320
*the country code for the UK is 44*
With love and HOPE, Lanie
SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
Former Member
Police still looking for Sarah ten years on
April 2010
Ten years after 14-year-old Sarah Benford went missing police have said they are still looking.
[snip]
Speaking on the 10-year anniversary of the teenager's disappearance, Detective Chief Inspector Neil McMahon, from the Investigations Directorate, said: "The investigation into the disappearance of Sarah Benford remains an open investigation.
[snip]
Almost 5,000 lines of inquiry were followed, with 663 statements made and 918 reports collated in what was the biggest missing person search Northamptonshire police had seen in 20 years.
More: http://www.northantset.co.uk/news/local/corby/police_still_looking_for_sarah_ten_years_on_1_748482
April 2010
Ten years after 14-year-old Sarah Benford went missing police have said they are still looking.
[snip]
Speaking on the 10-year anniversary of the teenager's disappearance, Detective Chief Inspector Neil McMahon, from the Investigations Directorate, said: "The investigation into the disappearance of Sarah Benford remains an open investigation.
[snip]
Almost 5,000 lines of inquiry were followed, with 663 statements made and 918 reports collated in what was the biggest missing person search Northamptonshire police had seen in 20 years.
More: http://www.northantset.co.uk/news/local/corby/police_still_looking_for_sarah_ten_years_on_1_748482
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Police investigating have begun searching an area of woodland following a cold case review of her disappearance.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...n-disappeared-16-years-ago.html#ixzz4301p56fV
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...n-disappeared-16-years-ago.html#ixzz4301p56fV
Elainera
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LE believes she was murdered but they never found her body. It seems the case, once one of the highest-profile missing children’s cases in the UK, has gone stone cold.
The latest I can find is from December 2017 when they dug up part of the house and garden where she was last seen. They didn't find anything.
Investigators dig up garden linked to teen, 14, who vanished 17 years ago
The latest I can find is from December 2017 when they dug up part of the house and garden where she was last seen. They didn't find anything.
Investigators dig up garden linked to teen, 14, who vanished 17 years ago
Al Ka
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For small recoup few details about Sarah and her case:
Missing teenager Sarah Benford, then aged 14, was last seen by her mother in Kettering town centre on April 6 2000, two days after leaving a care home in Northampton.
Detectives have been treating her disappearance as a murder investigation since 2003, following up more than 5,000 lines of inquiry.
---
Sarah lived with her family in Havelock Street, Kettering.
She was described as a troubled teenager and had a history of running away and had spent some time in care at Raven House, Tiffield Children's Centre and Welford House, Northampton.
The police believe Sarah may have been murdered in the early days of her disappearance.
===
TIMELINE OF THE INVESTIGATION
April 4 2000 - Sarah, 14, absconds from Welford House children's home in Welford Road, Northampton and returns to Kettering
April 6 2000 - Sarah visits her mother in Kettering town centre and there are also sightings of Sarah at Almond Road, Highfield Road and Cherry Road, Kettering. Sarah was wearing patchwork dark blue jeans, orange fleece, black Puffa jacket, cream trainer and a navy and green rucksack
June 2003 - Three houses in Kettering searched and one in South Wales
July 5 2003 - Man arrested but released without charge
Northampton police launch new search for missing teen Sarah Benford | Daily Mail Online
September 22 2003 - Man arrested but released without charge
October 1 2003 - A house in Kettering is searched
October 23 2003 - Houses searched and further persons arrested from Nelson Street, Kettering. Nobody charged
October 26 2003 - Flat in Hampden Crescent, Kettering, searched
November 27 2003 - A 41-year-old man is arrested but released without charge
December 2003 - Searches in Furnace Lane, Finedon, which lasted for several days and included the seizing of some exhibits.
Missing teenager Sarah Benford, then aged 14, was last seen by her mother in Kettering town centre on April 6 2000, two days after leaving a care home in Northampton.
Detectives have been treating her disappearance as a murder investigation since 2003, following up more than 5,000 lines of inquiry.
---
Sarah lived with her family in Havelock Street, Kettering.
She was described as a troubled teenager and had a history of running away and had spent some time in care at Raven House, Tiffield Children's Centre and Welford House, Northampton.
The police believe Sarah may have been murdered in the early days of her disappearance.
===
TIMELINE OF THE INVESTIGATION
April 4 2000 - Sarah, 14, absconds from Welford House children's home in Welford Road, Northampton and returns to Kettering
April 6 2000 - Sarah visits her mother in Kettering town centre and there are also sightings of Sarah at Almond Road, Highfield Road and Cherry Road, Kettering. Sarah was wearing patchwork dark blue jeans, orange fleece, black Puffa jacket, cream trainer and a navy and green rucksack
June 2003 - Three houses in Kettering searched and one in South Wales
July 5 2003 - Man arrested but released without charge
Northampton police launch new search for missing teen Sarah Benford | Daily Mail Online
September 22 2003 - Man arrested but released without charge
October 1 2003 - A house in Kettering is searched
October 23 2003 - Houses searched and further persons arrested from Nelson Street, Kettering. Nobody charged
October 26 2003 - Flat in Hampden Crescent, Kettering, searched
November 27 2003 - A 41-year-old man is arrested but released without charge
December 2003 - Searches in Furnace Lane, Finedon, which lasted for several days and included the seizing of some exhibits.
Al Ka
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30 March 2006
Sarah's mother tells of her regret
THE mother of a girl who went missing six years ago has spoken of her anger after seeing a private document detailing the last three months of her daughter's stay at a care home.
Vicki Benford says she should never have let her daughter go into care after seeing the dossier which reveals that Kettering teenager Sarah Benford – who was just 14 when she went missing from the care home – was regularly using drugs, having sex and harming herself with knives. It has also been revealed that Sarah turned up at Wellingborough young persons centre Service Six, four months after absconding from a Northampton care home in April 2000.
She was accompanied by a known prostitute to have a pregnancy test at the drop-in advice centre. Despite staff immediately notifying police, officers were unable to ever trace Sarah, who has remained missing, presumed dead, for the past six years.
---
Sarah vanished on April 6, 2000. Three days earlier she had been reported missing by staff at Welford House in Northampton.
Mrs Benford had received a call from Sarah saying she was with friends at a house in Hampden Crescent,Kettering. She called police and asked them to pick her up. They refused and Sarah was never seen by her family again. Mrs Benford said: "I have been disappointed with the police all the way through. I know there is stuff they have kept from me, I hear things from some of the dealers around town. It is disgusting.
Sarah's mother tells of her regret
Sarah's mother tells of her regret
THE mother of a girl who went missing six years ago has spoken of her anger after seeing a private document detailing the last three months of her daughter's stay at a care home.
Vicki Benford says she should never have let her daughter go into care after seeing the dossier which reveals that Kettering teenager Sarah Benford – who was just 14 when she went missing from the care home – was regularly using drugs, having sex and harming herself with knives. It has also been revealed that Sarah turned up at Wellingborough young persons centre Service Six, four months after absconding from a Northampton care home in April 2000.
She was accompanied by a known prostitute to have a pregnancy test at the drop-in advice centre. Despite staff immediately notifying police, officers were unable to ever trace Sarah, who has remained missing, presumed dead, for the past six years.
---
Sarah vanished on April 6, 2000. Three days earlier she had been reported missing by staff at Welford House in Northampton.
Mrs Benford had received a call from Sarah saying she was with friends at a house in Hampden Crescent,Kettering. She called police and asked them to pick her up. They refused and Sarah was never seen by her family again. Mrs Benford said: "I have been disappointed with the police all the way through. I know there is stuff they have kept from me, I hear things from some of the dealers around town. It is disgusting.
Sarah's mother tells of her regret
Hadn't heard of this case until now, it doesn't seem to have had a lot of publicity, but the local newspaper has just published a couple of articles about it to try and bring it back into the spotlight:
Sarah Benford: The story of the Kettering teen who vanished
The cold case detectives determined to crack the Sarah Benford murder case
Looks like quite a bit of reading in those, I should be much better informed once I've got through them!
Sarah Benford: The story of the Kettering teen who vanished
The cold case detectives determined to crack the Sarah Benford murder case
Looks like quite a bit of reading in those, I should be much better informed once I've got through them!
SaintGertrude
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It is sad that this case has never been solved like the missing Leah Croucher case 34 miles away in Milton Keynes.
'Still a chance' teenager who vanished 20 years ago could be found
'Still a chance' teenager who vanished 20 years ago could be found
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StillDiggin
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Our officers will today (Monday, November 15) begin excavating a section of land in Kettering in their search for the body of missing teenager Sarah Benford.
Sarah has not been seen alive since April 6, 2000 when she went missing from her care home in Northampton.
We subsequently declared a murder investigation, but despite a four-year inquiry including the arrest of a number of suspects as well as searches in Kettering, London and Wales, nobody has ever been charged.
However, following new intelligence gathered by the Force’s Major Investigation Team, a search has begun on an area of open space land in the Valley Walk area of Kettering.
Read more...http://ow.ly/Bh7850GNsvp
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Sarah has not been seen alive since April 6, 2000 when she went missing from her care home in Northampton.
We subsequently declared a murder investigation, but despite a four-year inquiry including the arrest of a number of suspects as well as searches in Kettering, London and Wales, nobody has ever been charged.
However, following new intelligence gathered by the Force’s Major Investigation Team, a search has begun on an area of open space land in the Valley Walk area of Kettering.
Read more...http://ow.ly/Bh7850GNsvp
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Sarah was a vulnerable teenager who had been failed by the care system (
Image:
Northamptonshire Police / SWNS)
Police scour land for teenager's body 21 years after her disappearance
''To date, the police have undertaken searches in Kettering, London and Wales and eight suspects have been arrested and subsequently released''
After receiving a tip off, the police have begun excavating an open space in Kettering
Leila Coker / SWNS)
''However, following 'significant intelligence' gathered by the Force’s Major Investigation Team, a search has begun in the Valley Walk area of Kettering.
A 70-metre by 70-metre area will be sealed off until the excavation is completed, which may take up to two weeks.
Dozens of police officers will be on the scene to complete the operation, and forensic archaeologists will be working alongside specialist police teams.''
Huge Kettering forensic dig as police search for Sarah Benford's body
"Specialist police search teams will now be assisted by forensic archaeologists, with ground penetration radar equipment deployed to assess any movement on the section of land under investigation.
Detective Superintendent Joe Banfield, who is leading the operation, said: "We have received significant intelligence which has pointed us to this site as a possible area of interest."
“Sarah went missing more than 21 years ago now, but we have never given up trying to find her body and, potentially, tracing her killer or killers."
The piece of land will be screened off from the public with dozens of police officers guarding the scene around the clock throughout the major operation."
"Specialist police search teams will now be assisted by forensic archaeologists, with ground penetration radar equipment deployed to assess any movement on the section of land under investigation.
Detective Superintendent Joe Banfield, who is leading the operation, said: "We have received significant intelligence which has pointed us to this site as a possible area of interest."
“Sarah went missing more than 21 years ago now, but we have never given up trying to find her body and, potentially, tracing her killer or killers."
The piece of land will be screened off from the public with dozens of police officers guarding the scene around the clock throughout the major operation."
Map from this article: Neighbours shocked as police comb Kettering land in search for Sarah Benford
"Police have meticulously planned how they are going to dig the site up after they were told by a community source earlier this year that Sarah, who went missing aged 14 in 2000, was buried there.
The piece of land, which is surrounded by trees and vegetation, is next to playing fields and almost opposite Kettering Science Academy.
It can be seen from busy Deeble Road with a path running next to it, linking the edges of the Grange estate and the Ise Lodge estate, over the River Ise.
The open space is used by hundreds of dog walkers each day..."
I'm surprised anyone could hide a body there and it not be noticed if it's that busy with dog walkers, although given there've been reports of multiple arrests over the years, I guess more than one person could manage to dig a decent hole under the trees overnight, maybe - although it'd still be hard to not make it look obviously disturbed in an area which apparently has a lot of traffic (I doubt it would've been much different in 2000; the nearest housing areas all look older than that). Still, I do hope the intelligence is right and they finally find the poor girl; it's been far too long!
Edit: and a further article from the same paper: Kettering detectives expecting to find Sarah Benford's body after tip-off
"The detective in charge of a huge operation over Sarah Benford's murder says he expects her body will be found during a forensic dig in Kettering.
...
Detective Superintendent Joe Banfield would not be drawn on the source but said officers are expecting to find Sarah's body.
He said: "If we did not think this information was credible we would not be here today." "
The scale of huge Kettering search for Sarah Benford
"These aerial images show the scale of the huge Kettering police operation to find Sarah Benford's body.
...
Yesterday officers spent the day taping off the area, putting fencing and mesh around it to screen it off from public view and mapping out anomalies in the land - areas different to those around it which could suggest ground movement.
Today (Tuesday) a digger has moved onto the site and police are currently working on the north-east area of land under investigation, near the public footpath bridge over the River Ise. A narrow channel has been dug up just a few yards behind a bench.
Markings have also been put around several other areas, suggesting they will be sections which will be excavated.
...
As of this afternoon officers are yet to find anything of note."
The pictures put it into scale; hope the intelligence is accurate enough that they find her from this!
"These aerial images show the scale of the huge Kettering police operation to find Sarah Benford's body.
...
Yesterday officers spent the day taping off the area, putting fencing and mesh around it to screen it off from public view and mapping out anomalies in the land - areas different to those around it which could suggest ground movement.
Today (Tuesday) a digger has moved onto the site and police are currently working on the north-east area of land under investigation, near the public footpath bridge over the River Ise. A narrow channel has been dug up just a few yards behind a bench.
Markings have also been put around several other areas, suggesting they will be sections which will be excavated.
...
As of this afternoon officers are yet to find anything of note."
The pictures put it into scale; hope the intelligence is accurate enough that they find her from this!
tedtink
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tedtink
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So sad.
I wonder whether someone convicted who had knowledge of or who was involved in grooming/ child exploitation in the area at the time has confided to someone else/ done a deal in prison?
Probably nothing to do with the below due to timing, or maybe a coincidence, but does make me wonder.
Check out the perps Kettering addresses showing distance to the dig....
UK’s biggest county lines gang jailed for 124 years
I wonder whether someone convicted who had knowledge of or who was involved in grooming/ child exploitation in the area at the time has confided to someone else/ done a deal in prison?
Probably nothing to do with the below due to timing, or maybe a coincidence, but does make me wonder.
Check out the perps Kettering addresses showing distance to the dig....
- Matthew Hall, 42, previously of Gotch Road, Kettering, sentenced to 14 years and 6 months for conspiring to arrange or facilitate persons under 18 with a view to their exploitation, conspiracy to supply heroin and conspiracy to supply crack cocaine. Google Maps
- Darren Caves, 44, previously of Hazelwood Court, Kettering, sentenced to 8 years and 4 months for conspiring to arrange or facilitate persons under 18 with a view to their exploitation, conspiracy to supply heroin and conspiracy to supply crack cocaine Google Maps
- Suraj Kumar (AKA Mal), 47, previously of St Johns Road, Kettering, sentenced to 5 years and 4 months for conspiracy to supply heroin and conspiracy to supply crack cocaine.Google Maps
UK’s biggest county lines gang jailed for 124 years
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tedtink
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'Everything we know about the missing Sarah Benford case so far as search continues'
Northamptonshire Police started digging in a 70 meter squared area of green land in Kettering on Monday morning (November 15) after a member of the public gave them 'significant intelligence'.
The body of Sarah Benford, who was last seen alive on April 6, 2000, has been previously searched for in London, Wales, and another part of Kettering after her disappearance was being treated as a murder investigation.
Everything we know about the missing Sarah Benford case so far
Northamptonshire Police started digging in a 70 meter squared area of green land in Kettering on Monday morning (November 15) after a member of the public gave them 'significant intelligence'.
The body of Sarah Benford, who was last seen alive on April 6, 2000, has been previously searched for in London, Wales, and another part of Kettering after her disappearance was being treated as a murder investigation.
Everything we know about the missing Sarah Benford case so far