Found Deceased UK - Janet Edwards, 66, Beechwood Court, Hereford, 10 Dec 2021

[hbt1337]

Wye Valley Runners

I saw a comment on the Vye Valley Runners page which had been organizing searches for her, that Janet's keys and purse were found at her Mum's home, and her Mum was in in hospital.
So, we can assume she was going around to her Mum's house near Venns Lane, to sort out any mail, check the house was OK etc.

After that, I wonder if she then went to the hospital to visit her mother, but chose to walk there, leaving her car at her mother's house so she didn't
A) have to pay for parking at the hospital, and
B) Not struggle to get a parking space, they are are difficult to get at hospitals.

She's a runner, so walking to the hospital would be no problem for her.

Penn Grove Road (where there was a sighting of her) comes out further up Venns Lane. Venns Lane leads onto Aylestone Hill, which then becomes Commercial Road. This is a main road in the town and where Hereford County Hospital is.

The walk is exactly 1 mile and takes 19 minutes according to Google Maps.

On Google Maps, at the junction of Venns Lane and Aylestone Hill, there is a large grassed area that is quite heavily wooded to the north and eastern sides. There is a path leading through these woods too.

There also seems to be a large old building there, I can't tell if it's a house or an isolated building for Nuffield hospital.

Food for thought.

MOO.

I may be wrong but I think I read somewhere that her mum is staying in a care home and Janet was parked at that car park - possibly Venns Lane care home or newstead nursing home as they are around that area
Another point to add is the grassy area you're referring to is Churchill gardens, it's very popular with dog walkers and college kids, surely someone would have spotted her if there was any unusual behavior. I believe the building is a hotel or some fancy building, not connected to the hospital, but it's certainly not abandoned anyway

 

[hbt1337]

I may be wrong but I think I read somewhere that her mum is staying in a care home and Janet was parked at that car park - possibly Venns Lane care home or newstead nursing home as they are around that area

I may be wrong but I think I read somewhere that her mum is staying in a care home and Janet was parked at that car park - possibly Venns Lane care home or newstead nursing home as they are around that area

Another point to add is the grassy area you're referring to is Churchill gardens, it's very popular with dog walkers and college kids, surely someone would have spotted her if there was any unusual behavior. I believe the building is a hotel or some fancy building, not connected to the hospital, but it's certainly not abandoned anyway

 

[annpats]

I may be wrong but I think I read somewhere that her mum is staying in a care home and Janet was parked at that car park - possibly Venns Lane care home or newstead nursing home as they are around that area.

Yes, I initially read that too, but then I read on the running club that her Mum was in hospital, and she was visiting her house.

 

[annpats]

Another point to add is the grassy area you're referring to is Churchill gardens, it's very popular with dog walkers and college kids, surely someone would have spotted her if there was any unusual behavior.

She went missing between 3pm and 7pm, and the sun sets before 4pm, so it's quite possible that nobody spotted anything at all, especially on a cold dark December day. Not every crime has a witness, sadly.

 

[Kitkat28]

Even if her mum did usually live in a nursing home she could still have been ill in hospital at the time Janet went missing. She could have been in the County or the Nuffield.

This is the problem with no concrete information or timeline being released; we’re left with a bit of a breadcrumb trail and no way to put it together.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Week 9.. Please help find our lovely friend Jan Edwards age 66,keen runner, retired nurse from Hereford. Jan has been missing since December 10th Friday after 3pm Venns Lane area. Jan was last seen shopping in Dunelm,all belongings left at her mother's empty flat. Please help and share.

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[annpats]

Jan was last seen shopping in Dunelm, all belongings left at her mother's empty flat.

This is the bit I haven't been able to wrap my head around for the past couple of weeks.

If she had finished at her Mum's place and was heading back to her own house (or to the hospital to see her Mum), then she'd more than likely have her car keys, phone, purse etc. with her.

If she was in her Mum's house and forgot something in her car, and nipped back out to get it from the car, she'd have her car keys with her.

I've been trying to come up with a scenario where she would have left her Mum's house of her own free will, but left all her stuff there.....and I can't really think of one.

And there were no signs of a struggle, attack or break-in at her Mum's house.

So, I just don't know. I honestly don't.

Voluntary disappearance could be a possibility......who knows what's really going on inside someone's mind?

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

I've been trying to come up with a scenario where she would have left her Mum's house of her own free will, but left all her stuff there.....and I can't really think of one.

To end her life. We don't know what state of mind she was in, and very often friends and family are left perplexed as they hadn't known the full extent of someone's mental anguish.

 

[annpats]

To end her life. We don't know what state of mind she was in, and very often friends and family are left perplexed as they hadn't known the full extent of someone's mental anguish.

I do wax and wane on the idea of voluntary disappearance, and it does seem a distinct possibility, when you consider she left her Mum's house with all her belongings still there.

There have been many searches conducted, including woodland and her body hasn't been found, so she may have walked a considerable distance, much further than anyone expected, outside of the search areas. She was a fit lady and was a member of a jogging club.

It may also be the case that if she chose to end her life through hanging (in a forest or woods), that she may not be discovered for some while. Most remains are come upon accident, by dog walkers, hikers, etc. It may be the case she is never found. Herefordshire is very rural.

I feel very sad about it all, not just for Janet and her friends, but also her family and certainly her mother who was ill in hospital. Imagine having to explain to her why her daughter isn't visiting any more.....

 

[JosieJo]

I still think about Janet most days it just baffles me that in such a busy and residential area that she was not caught on cctv somewhere. Yet her running friends have searched presumably everywhere in walking distance.
The only scenario I can think of where she would pop out from her moms flat would be to go to a shop to get something with cash out of her purse in her pocket ..or to pop somewhere to see a near by friend of hers or her moms before planning to go back to her car.

 

[WiseOwl]

Week 9.. Please help find our lovely friend Jan Edwards age 66,keen runner, retired nurse from Hereford. Jan has been missing since December 10th Friday after 3pm Venns Lane area. Jan was last seen shopping in Dunelm,all belongings left at her mother's empty flat. Please help and share.

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I hadn't realised Janet's mother's flat was empty, so paying a visit to it that afternoon and leaving her belongings there can surely only point to one thing - Janet intended to make this one last visit to her mother's home.

Leaving her things at the flat and her car in the car park then walking off down Venns Lane looks sadly to mean only one thing - self-harm. It's awful to say that but it looks the most likely scenario now.

Janet hasn't been seen since the 3pm sighting that afternoon, and I think pretty soon after she left Beechwood Court she probably headed into woodland somewhere in the area, and that would explain the lack of any sightings of her that afternoon.

 

[Kitkat28]

I’m thinking along the same lines now sadly @WiseOwl. I’d be interested to know what she bought at Dunelm though, as it seems a big change in state of mind from ordinary errands in the morning to something like that in the afternoon. Obviously I know that suicidal people often carry on as normal right to the point they make the decision, but there’s still a nagging doubt of a different scenario.

 

[WiseOwl]

I’m thinking along the same lines now sadly @WiseOwl. I’d be interested to know what she bought at Dunelm though, as it seems a big change in state of mind from ordinary errands in the morning to something like that in the afternoon. Obviously I know that suicidal people often carry on as normal right to the point they make the decision, but there’s still a nagging doubt of a different scenario.

It would be interesting to know what Janet bought at Dunelm that morning, however the police have been extremely reluctant to part with any background information on Janet in public. Even the news about Janet's mother's flat being empty came from the Safe Haven Missing site, not the police.

Out of interest, what would your different scenario be then?

 

[annpats]

I would also be interested to know what happened to her mother....is she still in hospital, back home, moved to a care home, or passed away?

I just wondered how ill her mother was, and whether that would influence any suicidal thoughts into actuation....

 

[Kitkat28]

It would be interesting to know what Janet bought at Dunelm that morning, however the police have been extremely reluctant to part with any background information on Janet in public. Even the news about Janet's mother's flat being empty came from the Safe Haven Missing site, not the police.

Out of interest, what would your different scenario be then?

Just the tiniest, likely unrealistic, possibility that she was taken somewhere against her will. It’s just the shopping that I can’t get out of my mind. I suppose it could have been things for her mum to get the flat ready for her coming home, or (more likely I feel) to get it ready to sell. Maybe that was the trigger?

 

[WiseOwl]

Just the tiniest, likely unrealistic, possibility that she was taken somewhere against her will. It’s just the shopping that I can’t get out of my mind. I suppose it could have been things for her mum to get the flat ready for her coming home, or (more likely I feel) to get it ready to sell. Maybe that was the trigger?

Possibly, we don't know why her mother is in hospital. If it is for something like dementia then probably her mother would not be coming home - maybe that could be the reason?

The only scenario about Janet being taken against her will I can think of is that something happened at Beechwood Court, maybe the person responsible is the one that told the police that she left at 3pm and went down Venns Lane - just to put them off the scent.

I really don't think this happened but you never know!

 

[JuicyLucy]

Just the tiniest, likely unrealistic, possibility that she was taken somewhere against her will. It’s just the shopping that I can’t get out of my mind. I suppose it could have been things for her mum to get the flat ready for her coming home, or (more likely I feel) to get it ready to sell. Maybe that was the trigger?

I agree. While self-harm is a distinct possibility, it would be remiss to rule out all other scenarios imo.

While leaving all her things in situ suggests that she didn't leave and go about her business in a normal way, it certainly allows for the possibility of someone coming to the door and luring her out on a pretext. We all think we wouldn't fall for that kind of thing, but what if, say, she was told someone had collapsed and did she know any first aid? What if they said a delivery had been left at their flat in error but it was too heavy for them to carry? What if a kid said they were looking for their granny's flat? I might come out of my home without bag/keys/phone etc in that kind of situation, depending on who was doing the asking. The reality is that most of us try to be helpful when asked, and mostly nothing bad happens as a result. All it would then take is for an assailant to close the main door behind her before taking her somewhere against her will. It's definitely possible.

JMO

 

[JosieJo]

There are so many conflicting factors in this case.

There has been no mention at all of her being "vulnerable" by the police ..the usual description given by police when there are mental health issues or suicidal possibilities.

All her friends state she was in a normal frame of mind and looking forward and making plans for Xmas and a big run that was coming up

She had been shopping that morning

As far as we know she had not left any goodbyes notes etc

It takes an awful lot to leave your family with no answers just before Xmas

Why leave a car at your moms and walk through a rural area to find a place to end your life? Why not drive to a rural area ?

But then I know we don't know what goes through people's minds at times like this ..I do not know what to think

 

[annpats]

Why leave a car at your moms and walk through a rural area to find a place to end your life? Why not drive to a rural area ?

I think maybe because the car would draw attention to her whereabouts and she didn't want to be found.

Not many suicides are found near their cars.

She belonged to a running club, which from the photos on the Wye Valley Runners facebook page, looks like it did some rural countryside runs, so she may have known or seen a few quiet places to go.

Alternatively, she could have just wandered until she found a place.

However, I would have still suspected her to appear on CCTV somewhere along a building on Venns Lane.

But maybe, she just didn't. Perhaps one wasn't working, or pointing in not quite the right position at the right time, or it was too far away to pick her out, or she headed off into bushes and shrubbery quickly.

 

[annpats]

I hope Janet is found, whatever happened to her, and she doesn't end up like the lady in the case below.

This lady, a voluntary psychiatric patient, walked into the woods at the rear of a hospital and was never seen again. Suicide suspected. Body never found.

UK - UK - Margaret Costen, 54, teacher, voluntary patient last seen leaving Pembury Hospital, 23 Feb 1997