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

[davidt]

im very suprised that the leters would of bean readeble after that

Which is why we really need to know more about the circumstances of their discovery. If Ruth left them then you'd assume she would put them somewhere they would be safe and found. If someone else put them there might they have been trying to hide them? We don't know how they were found. Putting them under a bush in the rain seems pretty odd unless they were very easy to find. But then it was about four days before they were discovered so it can't have been that obvious.

 

[davidt]

Don't quote me, but I'm sure I'd seen somewhere over the years that they had been found in some sort of plastic container. But then again this could just be a rumour put out on-line (which may be why it's not so easily available)

I wasn't aware of that but it would make sense.

 

[mrC]

the police never confirmed that the notes existed i think her father did though
mind you he might not priy to all the known facts ethere

 

[davidt]

the police never confirmed that the notes existed i think her father did though
mind you he might not priy to all the known facts ethere

Yep, its all very much second hand. Interesting if true that she wrote separate letters to her father and stepmother.

 

[TheRockingRev]

This is where it all becomes quite frustrating - The Times apparently reported that three notes were found by the police, but the police have never confirmed it. In other reports it is said that her bag, wallet (with cash) had been found - but again no official confirmation.
The notes, supposedly addressed to her friend, parents and another friend, would've been handed over to her family., If they didn't want to disclose what they said, then the police also couldn't say anything.
JMO - but unless there's an outright denial then you can *usually* hazard a guess that it's true.

 

[davidt]

This is where it all becomes quite frustrating - The Times apparently reported that three notes were found by the police, but the police have never confirmed it. In other reports it is said that her bag, wallet (with cash) had been found - but again no official confirmation.
The notes, supposedly addressed to her friend, parents and another friend, would've been handed over to her family., If they didn't want to disclose what they said, then the police also couldn't say anything.
JMO - but unless there's an outright denial then you can *usually* hazard a guess that it's true.

I know I harp on but the duffle bag really bugs me. If it was found with some contents I'd expect the police to publicise the fact and issue photos etc in the hope someone may recognise it or had seen someone carrying it. It just seems an obvious thing to do. It's something I just can't get my head around. And then I wonder if it really was found in the first place.

 

[TheRockingRev]

I know I harp on but the duffle bag really bugs me. If it was found with some contents I'd expect the police to publicise the fact and issue photos etc in the hope someone may recognise it or had seen someone carrying it. It just seems an obvious thing to do. It's something I just can't get my head around. And then I wonder if it really was found in the first place.

No, I agree. The ridiculous thing is that even if it gives no indication to what happened to Ruth, they could at least confirm one way or another. There's just so many things in this case that don't have a proper resolution.

 

[Officer Dibble]

No, I agree. The ridiculous thing is that even if it gives no indication to what happened to Ruth, they could at least confirm one way or another. There's just so many things in this case that don't have a proper resolution.

She could still be in plain sight, not having changed her name. Stranger things have happened. I don't think she had a middle name so searching through 192 dot com (the directory) would show her name without a middle name - it shows people who share that address so any with Wilson surname are probably a married name. You do have to pay a small fee to get further info.

 

[mrC]

why would she leaves letters under a bush anyway they might never been fiund for all she knew nobody might ever might ever read them maybe she dident want people to read them in wich case why not sust rip them up i cant think of any reason she would of done it

 

[davidt]

why would she leaves letters under a bush anyway they might never been fiund for all she knew nobody might ever might ever read them maybe she dident want people to read them in wich case why not sust rip them up i cant think of any reason she would of done it

Well we don't really know how they were found. All I can find is that they were found under a bush in some undergrowth. So how easy or difficult they were to find is anyone's guess. Secondly we can't even be sure it was Ruth who put them there. Perhaps someone else did or someone just threw them away and that's where they landed.

 

[alb1on]

A couple of small points;

• The notes exist. Apart from the contemporaneous reports of them in the press there is also the refusal of Surrey police to release them under a FOI request a few years back. If they did not exist they could have simply said so. Also the notes have been referred to in various articles and the documentary where Mark Williams Thomas was either involved or an interviewee. As the FLO for the Wilson family following the disappearance MWT would definitely know about the notes and given his penchant for publicity would not be able to resist saying if they did not exist. He also, no doubt, knows the content but would be constrained from disclosing this as it is still an open case.
• There is a person on a social media discussion who claims to be the person who saw Ruth walking from Brockham to Dorking with a large blue suitcase. This information, if genuine, places this sighting far more precisely than other reports which simply refer to the (very long) Dorking road. Brockham to Dorking is 3 miles. I cannot link the site under our rules but it is easily found by a search on "Ruth Wilson" + "Box Hill" + Brockham. And a local Dorking resident matching the two first names used by the social media poster and with a 1980 birth date can also be found as a director of Harbut & Friday using a search on the Companies House database. Of course, I cannot guarantee either that the person posting is genuine or that the match of the Dorking resident to the poster is correct - but both seem plausible. If genuine it certainly strengthens the case for a real planned departure, especially as the poster puts the sighting as the day of the disappearance.

 

[davidt]

A couple of small points;

• The notes exist. Apart from the contemporaneous reports of them in the press there is also the refusal of Surrey police to release them under a FOI request a few years back. If they did not exist they could have simply said so. Also the notes have been referred to in various articles and the documentary where Mark Williams Thomas was either involved or an interviewee. As the FLO for the Wilson family following the disappearance MWT would definitely know about the notes and given his penchant for publicity would not be able to resist saying if they did not exist. He also, no doubt, knows the content but would be constrained from disclosing this as it is still an open case.
• There is a person on a social media discussion who claims to be the person who saw Ruth walking from Brockham to Dorking with a large blue suitcase. This information, if genuine, places this sighting far more precisely than other reports which simply refer to the (very long) Dorking road. Brockham to Dorking is 3 miles. I cannot link the site under our rules but it is easily found by a search on "Ruth Wilson" + "Box Hill" + Brockham. And a local Dorking resident matching the two first names used by the social media poster and with a 1980 birth date can also be found as a director of Harbut & Friday using a search on the Companies House database. Of course, I cannot guarantee either that the person posting is genuine or that the match of the Dorking resident to the poster is correct - but both seem plausible. If genuine it certainly strengthens the case for a real planned departure, especially as the poster puts the sighting as the day of the disappearance.

If its the person I saw posting on the group I saw she also says the sighting was on the day of the disappearance as you mentioned. She seems adamant about it.

 

[mrC]

did they say what time of the day they saw ruth doing this

 

[Professor Moriarty]

I live in hope that Ruth one day reappears and tells us how she pulled off an escape to her happiness.

Maybe this will be more likely after her parents have died.

 

[alb1on]

did they say what time of the day they saw ruth doing this

Unfortunately not.

 

[davidt]

Unfortunately not.

I can't remember if she said she knew Ruth or not?

 

[Professor Moriarty]

I can't remember if she said she knew Ruth or not?

I think she said she knew her. She said RW was bullied at school.

 

[davidt]

I think she said she knew her. She said RW was bullied at school.

Thanks, I always find sightings more reliable if it's by someone who actually knows the person concerned.

 

[mrC]

funny shes insistant on what the date was but doesnt know what the time was

 

[mrC]

did she weather the suitcase sighting happend in daylight or not that might give us some clue as to the time