Found Deceased UK - Leah Croucher, 19, Emerson Valley, Milton Keynes, 14 Feb 2019 #4

[Woodburnbay]

From link.. rbbm.
''The woman is now urging police to re-examine what she told that at the time on February 15 as it could provide a vital clue in the baffling case.''

"Suddenly a right foot appeared on the dashboard, followed by a left foot," she said. "I guessed they belonged to a female because of the size.''

'''She remembers the time clearly - it was between 8.35am and 8.40am.

Leah's mobile phone left the network inexplicably at 8.34am in the area of Furzton Lake.''

The witness said: "As I watched the car, the driver suddenly let go of the steering wheel with both hands, twisted himself around and pushed whoever the feet belonged to down really forcefully.
"He was using both hands and it seemed a very aggressive thing to do.
"It was like he was trying to hide someone."

''The woman, who was travelling along the H7 (Chaffron Way) towards central Milton Keynes, described the man driving the mystery car as between 30 and 40 with dark brown hair in a "mophead" style.
He was wearing a bottle green jumper and a long tan-coloured jacket.
''She remembers the passenger's shoes having dark soles, possibly boots, and it was pulling out of a junction onto the H7 on the road leading at a right angle directly from the lake.''

How can you say that someone driving a car had a "LONG tan-coloured jacket" A Tan leather jacket but how could you ascertain it was Long???????

IMO the description is not credible.
If they can identify detailed clothing that would be out of sight for a pedestrian or another motorist, how did they not notice anything about the persons Ethnicity, for example??

 

[Woodburnbay]

From link.. rbbm.
''The woman is now urging police to re-examine what she told that at the time on February 15 as it could provide a vital clue in the baffling case.''

"Suddenly a right foot appeared on the dashboard, followed by a left foot," she said. "I guessed they belonged to a female because of the size.''

'''She remembers the time clearly - it was between 8.35am and 8.40am.

Leah's mobile phone left the network inexplicably at 8.34am in the area of Furzton Lake.''

The witness said: "As I watched the car, the driver suddenly let go of the steering wheel with both hands, twisted himself around and pushed whoever the feet belonged to down really forcefully.
"He was using both hands and it seemed a very aggressive thing to do.
"It was like he was trying to hide someone."

''The woman, who was travelling along the H7 (Chaffron Way) towards central Milton Keynes, described the man driving the mystery car as between 30 and 40 with dark brown hair in a "mophead" style.
He was wearing a bottle green jumper and a long tan-coloured jacket.
''She remembers the passenger's shoes having dark soles, possibly boots, and it was pulling out of a junction onto the H7 on the road leading at a right angle directly from the lake.''

How can you say that someone driving a car had a "LONG tan-coloured jacket" A Tan leather jacket but how could you ascertain it was Long???????

IMO the description is not credible.
If they can identify detailed clothing that would be out of sight for a pedestrian or another motorist, how did they not notice anything about the persons E

I think she was quite clear about why she didn't get a chance to see the registration plate, and the description of the car was thorough, even though (like many people) she may not know one make from another without sight of the marque.

The comment that did strike me as extremely odd though was this:

"He was wearing a dark, bottle green jumper and a tan-coloured jacket. It was a long jacket, not a short one. It may have been leather."

Even if you were very close, which she can't really have been if someone several cars in front of her let him pull out in front of them, I can't think of any conceivable way you could see that the driver of another car was wearing a 'long jacket, not a short one'.

But for sure, it's an interesting development. It would be good imo if the police would be more specific, e.g. they couldn't trace the car with the information she gave, or they did trace it but the driver was ruled out. And if they couldn't trace it, I would want to know how hard they tried, as afaik they didn't make a public appeal either for the driver to come forward or for anyone else on that road at that time to contact them if they saw it too.

I'm sorry to say I don't think traffic cam footage would be available anymore, unless it was looked at at the time and specifically archived. Could be wrong though.

JMO

Sounds like a social mediate who wants 15 minutes of fame,

 

[HollyHunter9]

Another witness has come forward with a sighting of leah on the morning she disappeared...

'Was I the last person to see Leah Croucher?' asks Milton Keynes mum as another witness speaks out

A 50-year-old mum who was probably the last person to see Leah Croucher before she disappeared has spoken out about how the teenager seemed "perfectly normal and calm" on that fateful morning.
And she says she feels puzzled and let down by police, claiming they took two years to acknowledge that her sighting could be genuine. Although in response police insist she was 'taken very seriously from the outset'.
"It just makes me wonder if anything has been missed or if anyone else saw something that could be important and police didn't seem to take much notice," the witness said.On the morning of February 15 2019, the mum saw 19-year-old Leah as she was walking past TellyTubby Hill, a mound of earth opposite the Tesco Express store and Merebrook Infants School.
"She nodded hello to me and I smiled back. She looked exactly the same as she always did. As usual, she wasn't wearing make up and she was walking like she always did, with her hands in her pockets."She didn't seem in a hurry, she didn't seem agitated and she didn't seem upset in any way or like anybody planning to do something out of the ordinary. She didn't look excited, or scared or anything. She was walking along, looking perfectly calm, as she'd been every morning for the past six months.
"It all seemed perfectly normal."

 

[WiseOwl]

How can you say that someone driving a car had a "LONG tan-coloured jacket" A Tan leather jacket but how could you ascertain it was Long???????

IMO the description is not credible.
If they can identify detailed clothing that would be out of sight for a pedestrian or another motorist, how did they not notice anything about the persons E


Sounds like a social mediate who wants 15 minutes of fame,

Awww come on, the witness is in her sixties - give her a break!

 

[Onetruesaxon]

Another witness has come forward with a sighting of leah on the morning she disappeared...

'Was I the last person to see Leah Croucher?' asks Milton Keynes mum as another witness speaks out

A 50-year-old mum who was probably the last person to see Leah Croucher before she disappeared has spoken out about how the teenager seemed "perfectly normal and calm" on that fateful morning.
And she says she feels puzzled and let down by police, claiming they took two years to acknowledge that her sighting could be genuine. Although in response police insist she was 'taken very seriously from the outset'.
"It just makes me wonder if anything has been missed or if anyone else saw something that could be important and police didn't seem to take much notice," the witness said.On the morning of February 15 2019, the mum saw 19-year-old Leah as she was walking past TellyTubby Hill, a mound of earth opposite the Tesco Express store and Merebrook Infants School.
"She nodded hello to me and I smiled back. She looked exactly the same as she always did. As usual, she wasn't wearing make up and she was walking like she always did, with her hands in her pockets."She didn't seem in a hurry, she didn't seem agitated and she didn't seem upset in any way or like anybody planning to do something out of the ordinary. She didn't look excited, or scared or anything. She was walking along, looking perfectly calm, as she'd been every morning for the past six months.
"It all seemed perfectly normal."

Don't really mean much. Someone can still appear completely normal if they are worried or know something is going to happen or about to do something they don't want anyone to know about.

Maybe the bit where it says she had no make up on can be a bit of use and you could say she's wasn't trying to impress anyone. I think it's good to keep the stories going though.

 

[BrianJohnson]

The only credible theories for me are

MK’s Finest personally, a relative of his or a relative of his wife, the truth to her disappearance (demise sadly) lies with that family and no one else imho

I don’t believe for one moment talk of grooming gangs, drug deals gone wrong, McCann etc, that is for the birds

Only possibilities are

1) Leah argues with AC and Leah threatens to tell his wife about their relationship/is pregnant and threatens to tell his wife, and he personally removes a ‘problem’

2) Relatives of AC with or without his knowledge pick her up in a taxi and say they going to take her to AC to have a chat and she gets in the taxi voluntarily and they bump her off

3) AC’s wife finds out about the affair and her family deal with the ‘problem’ permanently so Leah wont get in the way in their marriage

 

[Cherwell]

Really? I thought it had a bend in it though?

According to the map in the newspaper report, she was driving along Chaffron Way. The car is waiting to turn out of Shirwell Crescent.

https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/webimg/T0FLMTMzNDQ2ODc5.jpg?&width=640

 

[StillDiggin]

Thames Valley Police is today publishing clarification on the investigation into missing teenager Leah Croucher in Milton Keynes, following information published by the Milton Keynes Citizen on Tuesday (14/9).

On Tuesday the Milton Keynes Citizen published an article relating to the ongoing investigation into missing teenager Leah Croucher, reported missing to the force on 15 February 2019.

The article reported that a witness had contacted us but she stated that our officers had never interviewed her about the information that she had provided.

The article also suggested that the witness contacted the force immediately after Leah went missing.

This is not correct, the witness contacted the force on 20 March 2019, five weeks after Leah went missing.
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We then interviewed the witness as part of our extensive investigation into Leah’s disappearance.

The information provided by the witness in the article is also significantly different to the information that they provided to the force at the time, and had this information come to light in March 2019, it would have been a significant development which would have been investigated with the utmost priority.

Although the MK Citizen have clarified in their article that Thames Valley Police had spoken with the witness, we feel it necessary to place on our channels that this was the case and the circumstances surrounding this.

Given the article, Thames Valley Police will now be reviewing this information and we continue to ask anybody with any information relating to Leah’s disappearance, no matter how insignificant you believe this may be, to visit a police station, report online or call 101, quoting 43190049929 or ‘Operation Dawlish’.

We are committed to ascertaining what has happened to Leah, and can reassure the public that we take all leads seriously and follow up all information provided to the investigation team.

Speculation as to what happened to Leah is unhelpful and is likely to cause distress to Leah’s family and friends, and so it is important that any information that can assist this investigation, is given to police at the earliest opportunity.

 

[Jenesaisquoi]

Or put it thro to the police here Public Portal

 

[Candelle]

This is not correct, the witness contacted the force on 20 March 2019, five weeks after Leah went missing.
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We then interviewed the witness as part of our extensive investigation into Leah’s disappearance.

The information provided by the witness in the article is also significantly different to the information that they provided to the force at the time, and had this information come to light in March 2019, it would have been a significant development which would have been investigated with the utmost priority.

snipped for focus.

This is key I think, the fact they came out and clarified you would assume would mean they have records that back this up, and IMO does question the validity of the sighting. Obviously JMO, but looking at the positioning of the cars and what was allegedly seen and from what distance as well it does seem a stretch, can't quite fathom how that much could be seen from that distance and angle, and the detail whilst other things were missed. Not impossible of course, but if they saw I'd assume it's likely that someone else at some point would have seen something. At least its put it back into the media i suppose, more people might be prompted to come forward.

 

[WiseOwl]

Thames Valley Police is today publishing clarification on the investigation into missing teenager Leah Croucher in Milton Keynes, following information published by the Milton Keynes Citizen on Tuesday (14/9).

On Tuesday the Milton Keynes Citizen published an article relating to the ongoing investigation into missing teenager Leah Croucher, reported missing to the force on 15 February 2019.

The article reported that a witness had contacted us but she stated that our officers had never interviewed her about the information that she had provided.

The article also suggested that the witness contacted the force immediately after Leah went missing.

This is not correct, the witness contacted the force on 20 March 2019, five weeks after Leah went missing.
Log In or Sign Up to View



We then interviewed the witness as part of our extensive investigation into Leah’s disappearance.

The information provided by the witness in the article is also significantly different to the information that they provided to the force at the time, and had this information come to light in March 2019, it would have been a significant development which would have been investigated with the utmost priority.

Although the MK Citizen have clarified in their article that Thames Valley Police had spoken with the witness, we feel it necessary to place on our channels that this was the case and the circumstances surrounding this.

Given the article, Thames Valley Police will now be reviewing this information and we continue to ask anybody with any information relating to Leah’s disappearance, no matter how insignificant you believe this may be, to visit a police station, report online or call 101, quoting 43190049929 or ‘Operation Dawlish’.

We are committed to ascertaining what has happened to Leah, and can reassure the public that we take all leads seriously and follow up all information provided to the investigation team.

Speculation as to what happened to Leah is unhelpful and is likely to cause distress to Leah’s family and friends, and so it is important that any information that can assist this investigation, is given to police at the earliest opportunity.

I find it extraordinary that the TVP have come out with a statement like that, why do they need to defend themselves in public about a witness statement over 2 years ago? Perhaps at long last people are recognising that the police's investigation into Leah's disappearance was nowhere near thorough enough and maybe they are feeling a bit of a backlash beginning to brew.

The witness stated she contacted the police shortly after Leah disappeared, and that the person who took the call didn't seem interested in the information at all. She says that she never heard back from the police so she contacted them again a few weeks later, which was presumably on the 20 March 2019. So what happened to the original information the witness gave, where is the police information for that?

Also what about the witness who saw Leah at TeleTubby Hill, she states that it took 2 years for the police to acknowledge her information was correct. Why did it take them that long and where is their explanation for this?

 

[HollyHunter9]

I find it extraordinary that the TVP have come out with a statement like that, why do they need to defend themselves in public about a witness statement over 2 years ago? Perhaps at long last people are recognising that the police's investigation into Leah's disappearance was nowhere near thorough enough and maybe they are feeling a bit of a backlash beginning to brew.

The witness stated she contacted the police shortly after Leah disappeared, and that the person who took the call didn't seem interested in the information at all. She says that she never heard back from the police so she contacted them again a few weeks later, which was presumably on the 20 March 2019. So what happened to the original information the witness gave, where is the police information for that?

Also what about the witness who saw Leah at TeleTubby Hill, she states that it took 2 years for the police to acknowledge her information was correct. Why did it take them that long and where is their explanation for this?

I agree WO. I find it very unusual that the police would come out with a statement like this. Just as I found it odd on her 2 year anniversary appeal they also released a statement of facts around the investigation such as trawling through 1,200 hours of CCTV, knocked on so many doors etc. It was like they were trying to make themselves look good which took the actual focus off Leah. Quite clearly they have done some investigating but I do believe in the beginning they thought leah was some love sick teenager who'd runaway and didn't take it seriously enough and now it's too late to go back and find vital evidence that was missed at the time.

I've included a link to facts they shared at the time of her 2 year appeal.

Leah Croucher: 'No lead' in 'bewildering' 2019 disappearance

 

[Woodburnbay]

I find it extraordinary that the TVP have come out with a statement like that, why do they need to defend themselves in public about a witness statement over 2 years ago? Perhaps at long last people are recognising that the police's investigation into Leah's disappearance was nowhere near thorough enough and maybe they are feeling a bit of a backlash beginning to brew.

The witness stated she contacted the police shortly after Leah disappeared, and that the person who took the call didn't seem interested in the information at all. She says that she never heard back from the police so she contacted them again a few weeks later, which was presumably on the 20 March 2019. So what happened to the original information the witness gave, where is the police information for that?

Also what about the witness who saw Leah at TeleTubby Hill, she states that it took 2 years for the police to acknowledge her information was correct. Why did it take them that long and where is their explanation for this?

I would say about all of this and IMO the police know exactly what has happened and who has done this but they have insuffuicient evidence and they are waiting for the person(s) to make a move or for someone else to come forward.

 

[Woodburnbay]

I agree WO. I find it very unusual that the police would come out with a statement like this. Just as I found it odd on her 2 year anniversary appeal they also released a statement of facts around the investigation such as trawling through 1,200 hours of CCTV, knocked on so many doors etc. It was like they were trying to make themselves look good which took the actual focus off Leah. Quite clearly they have done some investigating but I do believe in the beginning they thought leah was some love sick teenager who'd runaway and didn't take it seriously enough and now it's too late to go back and find vital evidence that was missed at the time.

I've included a link to facts they shared at the time of her 2 year appeal.

Leah Croucher: 'No lead' in 'bewildering' 2019 disappearance

But did the police not make exactly the same mistake in the Claudia Lawrence UK case?

They presumed she went off on her own accord, even though she left her passport and bank cards behind.

In both cases there was no activity at all or transactions.

It appears that weeks later they then realise that they are dealing with Abduction / Murder and become under pressure.

In both cases, the police always release something on the anniversary of the missing because it is probably expected of them. My opinion only.

 

[Onetruesaxon]

One thing that's been on my mind is when the parents said they found out she lied which hotel she stayed in they said they found out by checking her mail

"Leah’s father had dropped her off at a local hotel called Jurys Inn in Central Milton Keynes where Leah had told him she was spending the night with some female friends of hers. However when the teenager’s bank statement popped up in the mail the family found out that Leah had actually waited for her father to drive away on February 3rd 2019 before walking back out of Jury Inn hotel and making her way to the local Travel Lodge"

Does this show they were protective ? Does it show they were worried ? Does it show they was watching her? Does it show maybe they were stricter than shown? I get parents check stuff, my mum has opened my mail over the years , like if she can see it's a bill I've owed money or something, being nosey. I think it is wrong to open someone's mail though as it is private. I can see why they did it. Did they already have a feeling she lied?

Maybe they didn't open it but just saw her bill?

Could this show they maybe put a tracker on her phone ?

Just something I thought of?

 

[HollyHunter9]

One thing that's been on my mind is when the parents said they found out she lied which hotel she stayed in they said they found out by checking her mail

"Leah’s father had dropped her off at a local hotel called Jurys Inn in Central Milton Keynes where Leah had told him she was spending the night with some female friends of hers. However when the teenager’s bank statement popped up in the mail the family found out that Leah had actually waited for her father to drive away on February 3rd 2019 before walking back out of Jury Inn hotel and making her way to the local Travel Lodge"

Does this show they were protective ? Does it show they were worried ? Does it show they was watching her? Does it show maybe they were stricter than shown? I get parents check stuff, my mum has opened my mail over the years , like if she can see it's a bill I've owed money or something, being nosey. I think it is wrong to open someone's mail though as it is private. I can see why they did it. Did they already have a feeling she lied?

Maybe they didn't open it but just saw her bill?

Could this show they maybe put a tracker on her phone ?

Just something I thought of?

If I remember correctly they saw the bank statement a few weeks after she had gone missing. If your child was missing I think you would be looking for clues anyway you could to find out what happened or where they had gone and who with. IMO she lied about the hotel because she was meeting someone she knew her family would not approve of.

*edited for grammar

 

[Onetruesaxon]

I


If I remember correctly they saw the bank statement a few weeks after she had gone missing. If your child missing I think you would be looking for clues anyway you could to find out what happened or where they had gone and who with. IMO she lied about the hotel because she was meeting someone she knew her family would not approve of.

Ah that makes sense thanks

 

[JuicyLucy]

"Leah’s father had dropped her off at a local hotel called Jurys Inn in Central Milton Keynes where Leah had told him she was spending the night with some female friends of hers. However when the teenager’s bank statement popped up in the mail the family found out that Leah had actually waited for her father to drive away on February 3rd 2019 before walking back out of Jury Inn hotel and making her way to the local Travel Lodge"

sbmff

I assume the bolded bit is a published quote, so I'm not aiming my comments at you, @Onetruesaxon, but at whoever wrote it - but this is a really good example of what I dislike about how this case is reported.

Because actually, we don't know that this is how things happened at all. If you take the parents' testimony at face value (and I've no reason not to), all we know is where they dropped her off and that her bank statement reflects the fact she ended up staying at a different hotel. (And we know she lied about meeting her girl friends.) We definitely do not know that she "waited for her father to drive away" and immediately "walked back out and made her way" to the Travelodge - not unless there's some CCTV or a witness, which afaik there isn't.

Anything could have happened in between. She might have stayed at Jury's Inn for a drink or to meet up with a third party. She/they might have gone to check in at Jury's Inn, found there'd been a booking mix up and had to move to the other hotel. She might have had some kind of bad experience at Jury's Inn - a row with a third party or a sexual assault perhaps - and decided she didn't want to stay there after all. We don't really know and afaik no one has ever come forward who could shed any light on the truth of it.

So the small amount of factual information the parents have has been editorialised, either by them or by the media, and has now taken on the appearance of fact. It seems to happen again and again with this case and really muddies the waters imo.

 

[Lindsay Lou Who]

The girl groomed by that gang was under the age of 16, whereas Leah was a 19 year old adult - imo the idea of grooming is ridiculous.

The gang I was talking about is in this link
Gran accused of raping young child in 'Glasgow paedo ring' found dead at home

Although I don't necessarily personally think Leah was groomed. In my opinion you don't have to be under 16 to be groomed. If you look back at our previous threads on Leah and also historic MSM you will read that her brother and family believe she was groomed as she was described as a shy quiet young girl that generally spent alot of time at home. Leah's behaviours suddenly start changing after she supposedly started a relationship with AC, that her family didn't approve of due to him being involved in another relationship either married or about to be married at the time, aswell as him being older than her. It appears Leah getting involved in this relationship was very very out of character. Perhaps they felt she had been manipulated in some way and was being used.

 

[Lindsay Lou Who]

This is a really interesting development in Leah's case. I get the impression that the police probably think Leah is a runaway and so vital evidence in the beginning was missed and now it's too late and without it they have no reason to believe a crime has been committed. But if you look at the facts ~

• She was in secret relationship with a soon to be married man
• She lied to her parents 2 weeks prior about staying in a hotel, no one knows who with
• She also lied the night before about where she went after work and who with
• Phone location turned off near furzton lake the night before on valentine's day (we dont actually know if it was leah herself who turned this off ~ it could have been anyone who had access to her phone)
• She is on cctv on the morning of disappearance walking her usual route to work
• Her phone leaves the network at 8.34am
• Between 8.35am-8.40am a woman witnesses a man in a black car pushing someones feet down and acting suspiciously.
• Her bank account, medical records and social media accounts have been untouched since she went missing
• No sightings of her since day of disappearance

To me it is just glaringly obvious that she has been abducted. I think if it were suicide she would've been found by now and I don't think you could runaway and not touch any money or social media accounts for 2 years during a pandemic. All JMO of course.

Holly I completely agree with you 100%.
And very often in these cases the most obvious solution is more often than not the correct one.
Unfortunately I don't think Leah is with us anymore (although I really hope I am wrong). And I can only hope that the Police find a breakthrough in this case and find the person who is responsible for her disappearance and bring them to justice.
Leah and her family are regularly in my thoughts.