UK - Rachel Booth, 38, last seen at Sandiway Garage, A556, 3.50am, Northwich, 19 July, 2025

[suzyjackson]

She may have bought the milk to make the wine purchase seem less desperate?

Im interested in why the shop staff might think buying wine is desperate, are you thinking she was known at the shop to have alcohol problems?

My local garage is similar and I'm sure people pop there if they run out of drink during a party or gathering at all hours of the day and night . The two items don't raise any instant red flags for me

JMO

 

[Nikynoo]

Can someone point me to the source of her going out to run at 3am? As many have pointed out, running at 3am is odd. It strikes me that by today's standards the "athleisure" look is acceptable in any context, so I wonder how we know she was running rather than just chose those clothes to do whatever was her main objective, which I would say was not to buy milk.

ETA: Just saw @suzyjackson made the same point, so just want to give credit and say I concur. Apologies for effectively duplicating the comment.

From the garage picture, it looks to me that she had been exercising (running).

 

[Nikynoo]

Four immediate scenarios come to mind:
1. She flagged another driver to get a lift back to Northwich, and this was was someone who, spotting a distressed woman, abducted her.
2. She was victim of hit and run making her way back and knocked into undergrowth.
3. She tried to take a shortcut and had an accident.
4. Being distressed she went off to end things.

I can't think of anything else, but after 48hrs and no other sightings, things aren't looking good.

I have been thinking along the lines of 2 and 3. I am wondering if the route from garage to where they are searching is on her way home? If not, then other scenarios come into play. I’m leaning more towards 2 at the moment.

 

[Tullyjune]

She definitely looks in shape from the garage cctv. It would seem that she takes care of herself.

A mum of 3 boys at the start of the summer holidays…I can see how a motivated woman would choose to set an early alarm and decide to get a work out done while the family sleeps and before she’s required for “mum duty” - especially if (like me) she struggles to sleep in the warm weather. No AC in the UK.

The purchases are a normal “mum shop”, the only thing that throws me is the lack of bag to run home with them? - maybe she planned to run to the shop, pick up the bits she needed and then to uber back? I can see myself doing the same tbh.

 

[Hel44]

I live in nearby and my child is at school with one of her sons, so this is a bit close to home to be honest. My family are also all runners.

Barnton (where she apparently lives) is quite a long way from the garage where she was last seen. It would be an unusual running route to end up at that garage and especially to buy things to transport back if she was heading home. The garage is on a cross roads of 2 busy main roads.

Initial reports indicated that she was vulnerable and the alarm and police response seemed pretty fast, which would possibly indicate mental health problems, especially with being up in the night, but I’m not sure how that ties in to buying milk?

We actually walked and ran in the area on Saturday, and stopped at the same garage, nothing to see at the time and obviously we hadn’t heard anything about it then either.

I

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

I have been thinking along the lines of 2 and 3. I am wondering if the route from garage to where they are searching is on her way home? If not, then other scenarios come into play. I’m leaning more towards 2 at the moment.

Bearing in mind too, when she left home it would have been still dark, and even at 4am there is only a tiny glimpse of half light. Those country roads are not lit, and there would be little light from any houses at that time of the morning.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

A petrol station worker claimed she bought wine and milk from a the station after a 45-minute run.

Now a mum believes she's sighted Rachel walking past her house five minutes later.

She said: "I am fairly sure it's her that walked past my house at 3.55am. I have a video."

Mysterious ‘new last sighting’ of missing mum who bought wine & milk at 3.50am

A MISSING mum last seen at a petrol station in the early hours of Saturday may have been spotted since, it has emerged. Rachel Booth, 38, was last seen at Sandiway Garage in Northwich, Ch…

www.thesun.co.uk

Interesting, but doesn't say whereabouts.

 

[Blunomore]

This case, unfortunately, reminds me so much of the case of Nicola Bulley.

 

[Blunomore]

No! For obvs reasons. But follow tracks. Surprised not come up in press; wondering what next police statement will bring up.

What part of this has not been in the press?

 

[Cinister09]

Maiden name?

I believe her maiden name is - Widdowson - as per her link username on FB. I could be wrong, but she has a lot of Widdowson friends. "rachel.widdowson.7"

I think Booth may be a previous married surname as the eldest child appears to have it as a surname on his socials.

As far as we know her current married name is Langley - her brother-in-law is listed with the Langley surname, and her partner is a Langley too.

Edited to remove link so it just displayed the URL U/N.

 

[JosieJo]

I believe her maiden name is - Widdowson - as per her link username on FB. I could be wrong, but she has a lot of Widdowson friends. "rachel.widdowson.7"

I think Booth may be a previous married surname as the eldest child appears to have it as a surname on his socials.

As far as we know her current married name is Langley - her brother-in-law is listed with the Langley surname, and her partner is a Langley too.

Edited to remove link so it just displayed the URL U/N.

I realise people often keep previous names in marriage but I wonder why she is being referred to as Booth. It appears on her FB she classes herself as Langley

 

[Cinister09]

I realise people often keep previous names in marriage but I wonder why she is being referred to as Booth. It appears on her FB she classes herself as Langley

May be a case of her official ID hasn't been changed and they're going by that?

I've been married to my OH for 4 years and his licence still has his birth name, but his passport has been updated to the married surname.
Sometimes you just don't think about / bother changing all of that stuff until they expire etc cause of the costs.

Edited: Maiden to birth - my brain wasn't fully awake and is running on 3 hours of sleep. Apologies there.

 

[Hel44]

There has been no mention that I can see of how she got to the garage, was it known that she ran or walked there or was it assumed that because she was in sports gear. There has been no mention of a car or a lift.

I wasn’t even aware that garage was open at that time, As far as I knew most shops/garages close overnight locally so perhaps that was the reason she went there? There are garages and corner shops much closer to Barnton but presumably wouldn’t be open at that time.

Oakmere (where the water sports centre is) is quite a bit further down the main road towards Delamere forest. Not far in a car, but a decent way on foot and the wrong way to get home.

 

[suzyjackson]

May be a case of her official ID hasn't been changed and they're going by that?

I've been married to my OH for 4 years and his licence still has his maiden name, but his passport has been updated to the married surname.
Sometimes you just don't think about / bother changing all of that stuff until they expire etc cause of the costs.

Are you in the UK? I didn't know that we had official ID (ofd topic but it's interesting to see maiden name in relation to a man, I thought, maybe wrongly that was only for women)

Id assume that whoever reported her missing would have been asked her name and would have given the name the name she's usually goes by.

Ime having a different name on FB isn't unusual, I have a number of female friends who have either married or divorced but haven't changed their FB profile

 

[Sarahlou]

Are you in the UK? I didn't know that we had official ID (ofd topic but it's interesting to see maiden name in relation to a man, I thought, maybe wrongly that was only for women)

Id assume that whoever reported her missing would have been asked her name and would have given the name the name she's usually goes by.

Ime having a different name on FB isn't unusual, I have a number of female friends who have either married or divorced but haven't changed their FB profile

Yes, maiden name is a term meant for women only.

 

[JosieJo]

Are you in the UK? I didn't know that we had official ID (ofd topic but it's interesting to see maiden name in relation to a man, I thought, maybe wrongly that was only for women)

Id assume that whoever reported her missing would have been asked her name and would have given the name the name she's usually goes by.

Ime having a different name on FB isn't unusual, I have a number of female friends who have either married or divorced but haven't changed their FB profile

Yes that was my thinking ...the police would go by the name her family reported her under

 

[joltz]

So they are saying she was potentially sighted hitchhiking by two people. But the person that was apparently hitchhiking was wearing a yellow jacket. From the CCTV images, she was dressed all in black with no jacket on her person.

 

[joltz]

That is quite a cryptic comment. It seems quite a coincidence they have an unrelated police investigation in the same area and at the same time a woman goes missing.

The police asked them to temporarily close, while the search is ongoing, I believe.

Its always a concern when someone has gone missing near a large body of water. I think the police have sent divers in.

 

[Mersault]

I don’t think anyone has mentioned this yet, but if she’s into fitness she could have been wearing a watch or Oura which monitors swimming and water depth. That, in combination with Strava or Google Maps tracking her to a lake, would be pretty conclusive.

 

[Inspector Evans]

So they are saying she was potentially sighted hitchhiking by two people. But the person that was apparently hitchhiking was wearing a yellow jacket. From the CCTV images, she was dressed all in black with no jacket on her person.

I'm sure CCTV from the garage would quickly tell the police whether she came on foot or by transport as it's not the location where you can "just park round the corner." If there's no vehicle on the forecourt then she came by foot so a jacket wouldn't suddenly emerge a while later as nowhere open at the time.

Get the feeling the water park is being heavily scrutinised as I assume a vehicle passing would've seen person matching her description going into the entrance very early in the morning which would've been unusual unless there's a caravan park round there?

Dosen't look good at all.