UK UK - Ruth Wilson, 16, Dorking, 27 Nov 1995

[davidt]

Looking at the geography, but without any local knowledge, I don't know why it is sometimes assumed that Ruth either went up Boxhill or wanted to give the impression that she had done so. Why would anyone think that just from the fact that the hill was nearby? There was a big pub, shops and houses. It isn't a natural conclusion when someone is dropped off there late in the day in winter. Of course, the letters were found later, but they could have been put there before or after and could be the work of an accomplice.

Did she specify a drop off by a pathway that leads to the hill? Or did she ask for the pub?

Yes, I agree. I don't think there were any sightings of her after being dropped off? I know all sorts can happen but the search was started very early and yet no trace was found of her. I'm still confused whether it was officially confirmed a bag was found or not? It's just a gut feeling on my part but some of it almost points to a false trail being laid.

 

[Officer Dibble]

Two things stand out here for me:

"she recorded some music before taking a taxi to.... (the florist and the library)" You could take music out of the libraries back then and you could take it home and record it. I wonder if she went to the library to return some music she had borrowed? Made some music for a trip away possible? JMO

The other thing that stood out was there was NO NOTE sent with the flowers. I wasn't aware of that fact before (or have forgotten it.

You didn't record music IN the libarary - you borrowed some music, took it home and recorded it at home.

 

[davidt]

One thing that does strike me is seemingly how little is confirmed. I've been looking around for further details and it's noticeable how hard it is to find official confirmation of several things. The blue duffle bag Ruth had with her containing a personsl stereo and tapes is reported to have been located some time after her disappearance. However many reports make no mention of this at all. Other reports mention a wallet also being found in the bag. If it had indeed found wouldn't photos have been released to help with the enquiry?

Some sources even say its never been officially confirmed that three farewell letters were found. The paracetamol packaging and alcohol bottle you'd imagine would have been tested for fingerprints or DNA etc but again it doesn't seem anything official has been said on that and I can't really see any reason not to do so. There's nothing to even say if these items have definitely been connected to Ruth.The letters I can understand as assuming they exist could contain all sorts of things that might be distressing or make allegations or claims etc.

When you read around and read discussions on here and elsewhere it's clear there's quite a split between those who think she took her own life and those who think she deliberately disappeared. Many also make the same comment thst there's something distinctly odd or "off" about the whole thing. Even when I see her friends being interviewed I come away not yotally convinced they are telling everything they know.

I dud notice on tbe FB group dedicated to Ruth's disappearance that a person posts who claims to be the witness who saw Ruth with a blue suitcase. On there she says it was the same day Ruth disappeared.

 

[mrC]

if its the same day then that rather contradicts the cab drivers story

even if it canbe confirmed these notes exist you can be certan they were put there not they days before the she went missing or a little while after it

 

[Professor Moriarty]

if its the same day then that rather contradicts the cab drivers story

She could have collected the suitcase after being dropped off. People talk of the possibility that she had "stashed" it somewhere or with someone.

 

[mrC]

im not eactly sure why she would need help to run away i mean she was perfectly capeble of cathing a trian wasnt she she could easly of just packed a bag that morning and been gone no need for taxi rides to box hill or for stashing suitcases with acomplices why would you make somthing thats pretty simple so complicated

 

[davidt]

if its the same day then that rather contradicts the cab drivers story

even if it canbe confirmed these notes exist you can be certan they were put there not they days before the she went missing or a little while after it

Seems a very odd place to put them in the first place. You'd think they'd be left where she took her own life, if she did. Given there wasn't any sign of her anywhere how could she be confident they would be found?

 

[mrC]

i dont belie she put them there i belive somone else did asuming they exist and its not all a red herring

 

[Professor Moriarty]

i dont belie she put them there i belive somone else did asuming they exist and its not all a red herring

I think she must have had help. It could have been an older man she had met somewhere. (This was before internet grooming and she wasn't stupid.) If it was one of her friends (someone who could drive?), that person is still keeping quiet.

 

[davidt]

im not eactly sure why she would need help to run away i mean she was perfectly capeble of cathing a trian wasnt she she could easly of just packed a bag that morning and been gone no need for taxi rides to box hill or for stashing suitcases with acomplices why would you make somthing thats pretty simple so complicated

She would need somewhere to stay though. He friend says when she was interviewed by the police six months after Ruth's disappearance that they broke off questioning her in order to search her wardrobe. She feels the police thought Ruth might be hiding there.

 

[espirtu pampa]

Seems a very odd place to put them in the first place. You'd think they'd be left where she took her own life, if she did. Given there wasn't any sign of her anywhere how could she be confident they would be found?

It is a very odd place indeed but she was sure the taxi driver would tell the Police he dropped her near the pub.

 

[davidt]

It is a very odd place indeed but she was sure the taxi driver would tell the Police he dropped her near the pub.

Yes, that's fair enough and in some ways she seemed to go out of her way to be noticed.

 

[davidt]

I think she must have had help. It could have been an older man she had met somewhere. (This was before internet grooming and she wasn't stupid.) If it was one of her friends (someone who could drive?), that person is still keeping quiet.

I'm not usually in to conspiracies but in this case I don’t entirely rule it out.

I know it's not particularly common for those taking their own lives to leave notes. However if you do then I presume you want them found as there'd be little point writing them otherwise. To that end Ruth could just have left them at home or even posted them so they'd definitely be found.

Of course we don't know when she wrote them. Perhaps she wrote them that afternoon in the library which would explain why she had them with her. Again though you'd want them found though. So you would either have them on your person when you committed the deed or very close nearby. But Ruth wasn't found or any trace. Hiding them under a bush and then wandering off elsewhere seems unlikely. I suppose there's an outside chance she encountered an opportunistic predator before she could take her life but after she had placed the letters.

 

[Professor Moriarty]

I'm not usually in to conspiracies but in this case I don’t entirely rule it out.

Yes. If she didn't commit suicide, she must have had help to disappear. In that case I would hope it was someone sympathetic and not someone who exploited or abused her and killed her.

 

[alb1on]

if its the same day then that rather contradicts the cab drivers story

even if it canbe confirmed these notes exist you can be certan they were put there not they days before the she went missing or a little while after it

My understanding was that the witness reported seeing Ruth with the suitcase on the Dorking-Reigate Road (the A25) during daylight (no time specified). That in no way contradicts later events although whether the sighting is correct is another matter. If she was seen before going into Dorking that would suggest she was delivering the suitcase to an accomplice as that road is at the bottom of Box Hill and runs past Betchworth and other villages where she would have friends. However, the reports do not specify where she was sighted on that road and it is a long road.

 

[mrC]

if she was planning on runing away for what reason would she go to box hill why would she need to go there

 

[Professor Moriarty]

if she was planning on runing away for what reason would she go to box hill why would she need to go there

To lay a false trail? Who knows? This case is mysterious.

 

[mrC]

im not sure why ruth would of needed outside help to run away

i mean girls ruthsage run away all the time without any outside help

 

[Professor Moriarty]

im not sure why ruth would of needed outside help to run away

i mean girls ruthsage run away all the time without any outside help

The fact that she didn't just head off in the morning, but went to the library and hung around might suggest that she waited for someone.

 

[mrC]

or might suggest she had no intention of running away and was going about her normal routine