UK UK - Yvette Watson, 17, Norwich, Norfolk, 30 March 1979

[Al Ka]

Yvette Anne Watson

Case Classification: Endangered Runaway
Missing Since: March 30, 1979
Location Last Seen: Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Physical Description

Date of Birth: August 4, 1961
Age: 17 yrs old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5"-5'6"
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: None

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Jacket, Blue jeans and Brown cord skirt

Circumstances of Disappearance

Yvette who is originally from the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk went missing from the David Rice Hospital mental health unit (now disused) in Norwich on March 30, 1979, where she was being treated for depression. She has not been seen since.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: NCA Missing Children Team
Agency Phone Number: +44 845 000 5481
Agency E-Mail: information@icmec.org
Agency Case Number: UK0279NORF4187

Agency Name: Norfolk Constabulary
Agency Phone Number: 0845-456 4567
Agency E-Mail: https://www.norfolk.police.uk/contact-us/contact-us-form

ICMEC Case Number: UK0279NORF4187

Doe Network profile - 1757DFUK - Yvette Anne Watson


Missing people in and around Norwich

 

[Al Ka]

Yvette Watson

Yvette Watson was born 4 August 1961 and lived at Aldeburgh in Suffolk with her parents and sisters.

She was reported missing to Norwich police on 30 March 1979 while she was a voluntary patient at the David Rice Hospital, on Drayton High Road, Hellesdon, where she was receiving treatment for depression.

Yvette was 17 when she disappeared and at the time was described as 5'6" tall, slight build with short dark brown hair, brown eyes and fair complexion. It is not clear what clothing she had on but it was believed she was either wearing jeans or a brown cord skirt with a short jacket. She had £3.50 in her possession and hasn’t been seen since.

Original investigation

An investigation was launched into Yvette’s disappearance after the hospital reported her missing.

Officers interviewed a number of people including hospital staff, family and friends.

Yvette had a history of going missing but always returned of her own accord or had been found.

There was a potential sighting of Yvette on Bull Close Road in Norwich on 2 April 1979 by a former teacher but there have been no other reported sightings of her.

Current progress

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Yvette Watson’s disappearance and officers continue to appeal for new information which could help solve this case.

https://www.norfolk.police.uk/news/cold-cases/yvette-watson
Public Portal

 

[Al Ka]

April 2009
Dad won't give up on missing Yvette

A SUFFOLK father has said he will never give up hope that his daughter will be found - 30 years after she went missing.

When Yvette Watson vanished in 1979 she left behind a heartrending diary, describing her hopes for the future and crying out for help in her battle with depression.

Nobody knows whether the troubled teenager was able to fulfil her dreams because the 17-year-old walked out of a Norwich clinic where she was being treated for depression.
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Her parents, Colin and Enid, who live in Aldeburgh, have had to try to come to terms with not knowing what happened to their daughter, who would now be 47.
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The investigation into Yvette's disappearance was reviewed by police in 1999 but detectives wrapped it up the following year saying they had “exhausted all avenues”. The inquiry remains open.

Family friend Richard Raven, from Wrentham, near Beccles, said he wanted to keep Yvette's name in the public eye. When she was 10 years old Yvette was a bridesmaid at Mr Raven's marriage to his first wife, Tina.

He said: “My personal view is that I hope she is still alive, which we all do.
---
Yvette's early years showed little sign of the troubles to come. Quiet and a little shy, she seemed to settle well into nearby junior and middle schools.

But by the age of 13 Yvette began to show signs of mood swings and depression. The following year she ran away from home for the first time, hitching a lift to Ipswich and finally returning with her long brown locks cut short.

The involvement of social services in 1976 brought a placement for Yvette at St Michael's in Ditchingham, a school and home which offered special help to troubled teenage girls.

She stayed at St Michael's until March 1978. From there she was admitted to the David Rice Hospital where she responded well to treatment.

By March 1979 Yvette and her parents were beginning to lay plans for her future hoping she would take a place at Ipswich College where she would train to be a nursery nurse.

But their hopes were shattered when the hospital called on March 30, 1979, to say Yvette had gone missing.
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Det Insp Andy Guy, of Norfolk police, said: “Yvette was a missing person and she still is a missing person. It is still an open inquiry.

Dad won't give up on missing Yvette

 

[Al Ka]

June 2010
Police ready to link Peter Tobin to further murders

Ever since charging the 63-year-old with the murder of Angelika Kluk, 23, in September 2006, police have been convinced they were dealing with a serial killer. The professional manner with which Tobin killed and disposed of the body of the young Polish student left them sure he had killed before.
---
And when it emerged that he lived in Glasgow in the 1960s, he was instantly linked to three unsolved murders committed by a man known as "Bible John", because he was heard quoting verses in the Barrowland dancehalls where he selected his victims.

In his book The Lost Serial Killer, which is out next month, Professor David Wilson, professor of criminology at the Centre for Criminal Justice Policy and Research at Birmingham University, wrote: "Peter Tobin has probably been killing for longer than any other British serial killer. I didn't set out to prove Tobin was Bible John, but I would stake my professional reputation on it."
---
Operation Anagram involves eight UK police forces and has already generated about 6,000 lines of inquiry and more than 3,000 documents.
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They have found bank records, traced his movements from day to day and identified 120 cars owned by Tobin, some for just one week.
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Police attention also turned to Norfolk, where Tobin used to go on holiday.

The deaths of Susan Long, 18, and Natalie Pearman, 16, and the disappearances of Yvette Watson, 17, and Pamela Exall, 21, which took place in the county, have been linked to Tobin.

In 1969, Tobin moved to Brighton, Sussex, with his 17-year-old girlfriend, Margaret Mountney. They married but split after a year. He has been linked to the disappearances of Louise Kay, 18, and art student Jessie Earl, 22, who both went missing from nearby Eastbourne.
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The "Babes in the Woods" murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows took place in Brighton. Aged ten and nine, they would be Tobin's youngest victims.
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They have released photos of jewellery he may have hoarded as "trophies", and made TV appeals for new witnesses. Soon, the relatives, who have waited years for answers, will be told what they have uncovered.

Police ready to link Peter Tobin to further murders

Did Peter Tobin kill in Norfolk?
Did Peter Tobin kill in Norfolk?

 

[Al Ka]

30 March 2019
Missing Yvette Watson: Parents 'desperate' to know daughter's fate

The parents of a teenage girl who disappeared 40 years ago have spoken of their desperation to find out what happened to her.

Yvette Watson, 17, left a hospital near Norwich on 30 March 1979 and, apart from an unconfirmed sighting early that April, has not been seen since.

Her parents Colin, 84, and Enid Watson, 79, of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, still hope to discover why she went missing.

"We always think about her," said Mr Watson. "We desperately want to know what happened."
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Yvette's parents last saw her on Sunday 25 March at the David Rice Hospital in Hellesdon where she was a voluntary patient being treated for depression.

Mr Watson said Yvette was due to go back to her parents' home on 2 April because she was nearing the age of 18 when the hospital could no longer look after her.

Mrs Watson said: "She had been quite ill and I don't think she was thinking straight. She was very vulnerable... and she would talk to strangers."
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She attended Aldeburgh Primary and Leiston Secondary schools, receiving praise in reports for her "original mind".

But at 13 she suffered mood swings and depression and at 14 she ran away from home for the first time, hitching a lift to Ipswich.

In 1976 social services found her a place at a school and home for troubled teenage girls in Ditchingham, Norfolk, until she was admitted to the David Rice Hospital in March 1978.

Police have reviewed the case a number of times, but have so far failed to find any substantial leads.
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In 2009, Norfolk Police said it had investigated the possibility Yvette may have been a victim of serial killer Peter Tobin, but found no links.

Parents 'desperate' over missing daughter

 

[Al Ka]

Yesterday marked 40 years since Yvette went missing.

 

[Bit of hope]

Is it possible one or more pictures are mirrored? In the dark haired pictures she wears her hair the other way. Of course it's possible but IMO not very likely.

 

[Al Ka]

Is it possible one or more pictures are mirrored? In the dark haired pictures she wears her hair the other way. Of course it's possible but IMO not very likely.

When you take photo of the actual photo picture most often appeares mirrored, so yes, very likely. You can see it often in many cases.

 

[Bit of hope]

Was it possible in those day's to check if someone went abroad?

 

[Bit of hope]

@ Al Ka did you make a timeline or do you know of a timeline of places girls went missing and Tobin's whereabouts, until he was caught? What is your opinion on the theory that he could be responsible for Yvette's disappearance?

 

[Cherwell]

Was it possible in those day's to check if someone went abroad?

Not necessarily.

You could go to mainland Europe by ferry without even having a passport. If you were only going to be out of the country for a day trip or weekend, you could travel on a 60 hour ID card which could be issued at the ferry port. All you needed for one of those was a photo, and no checks were made. Very easy to obtain, and nobody would know if you didn't come back.

 

[Bit of hope]

Not necessarily.

You could go to mainland Europe by ferry without even having a passport. If you were only going to be out of the country for a day trip or weekend, you could travel on a 60 hour ID card which could be issued at the ferry port. All you needed for one of those was a photo, and no checks were made. Very easy to obtain, and nobody would know if you didn't come back.

Thanks.

 

[Al Ka]

@ Al Ka did you make a timeline or do you know of a timeline of places girls went missing and Tobin's whereabouts, until he was caught? What is your opinion on the theory that he could be responsible for Yvette's disappearance?

No, I did not make timeline for Tobin but I did mention him here as articles stated his name. My own thought is that when Tobin was cought (sometime in late 2000s) whole media went crazy and attributed most of unresolved murders and missing cases to him. While he might have been responsible for some, not all mentioned were his victims.

Too little is known in Yvette case but it is known she struggled with mental health and was depressed so much so that she was hospitalized so I would not ruled out suicide. I would not rule out foul play either though, by someone she met at hospital or foul play by someone completely unrelated. And there is also possibility that she did run away and was ok for some time.

 

[Bit of hope]

I have been intrigued for a long time about this UID, but the timeline doesn't fit.....UK Missing Persons Unit

 

[Bit of hope]

The only one who could fit according age-stats found in England UK Missing Persons Unit

 

[Al Ka]

No, I did not make timeline for Tobin but I did mention him here as articles stated his name. My own thought is that when Tobin was cought (sometime in late 2000s) whole media went crazy and attributed most of unresolved murders and missing cases to him. While he might have been responsible for some, not all mentioned were his victims.

Too little is known in Yvette case but it is known she struggled with mental health and was depressed so much so that she was hospitalized so I would not ruled out suicide. I would not rule out foul play either though, by someone she met at hospital or foul play by someone completely unrelated. And there is also possibility that she did run away and was ok for some time.

Just to add, she stayed in that particular hospital about a year and then disappeared just 2 days before being released. Really, runaway just before release does not make much sense. If it was at the beginning of her stay that would be different matter.

Further look should be taken at aquaintances she had at hospital or other people she met around that time.

 

[Bit of hope]

Just to add, she stayed in that particular hospital about a year and then disappeared just 2 days before being released. Really, runaway just before release does not make much sense. If it was at the beginning of her stay that would be different matter.

Further look should be taken at aquaintances she had at hospital or other people she met around that time.

Treatment worked according to the official records.....close to home....people can make it look ok..but it isn't....

 

[Cherwell]

Just to add, she stayed in that particular hospital about a year and then disappeared just 2 days before being released. Really, runaway just before release does not make much sense. If it was at the beginning of her stay that would be different matter.

Further look should be taken at aquaintances she had at hospital or other people she met around that time.

Unless she didn't want to go home.

 

[Bit of hope]

Long shot, and they probably exchange cases intensively.

Found in Scotland.
Male/Female - aged 20-60, found June 1985
Very little is known about this Dundee case which involved the discovery of a person’s right foot.

The 51 bodies found in Scotland that no one can identify

 

[Bit of hope]

Yvette was admitted to the David Rice Hospital in Drayton, Norwich in March 1978. She was here a voluntary patient at and treated for depression.

From this interview of a former nurse some interesting things about the David Rice Hospital
From Plants to Patients (2009) - WISEArchive

This is the place were the David Rice Hospital ones stood. It was demolished somewhere around 2005, because of safety reasons. There are no old pictures of the building. I wonder if they searched the former hospital grounds for Yvette

Yvette was last seen by her parents on March 25, 1979. Yvette was due to go back to her parents' home on 2 April because she was nearing the age of 18 when the hospital could no longer look after her. Her birthday is on August 4 though. I'm actually not sure it worked that way, I can't find anything about age, but my feelings says this was not the reason. she was probably admitted for a year

She went missing on March 30, 1979 from the David Rice Hospital, situated on Drayton High Road. There was an unconfirmed sighting of her by a former teacher on Bull Close Road on April 2. If she walked from A to B it would have taken her a little more then one hour. If it was really her on Bulls Close Road, were was she between March 30 and April 2.



Actually I think she was killed by another patient, not by a serial killer, or she ran away and committed suicide afterwards. There is a river running through Norwich. Could she have been taken by the water all the way down to the North-sea?