Inside the cold case investigative team fighting to make sure no missing person is ever forgotten

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Sifting through decades-old files and harnessing the reach of social media, a little-known unit in the West Midlands has solved more than 240 missing person cold cases in just three and a half years.

Officially known as the West Midlands Police “long-term complex team”, the five-person unit was created to find the people who have slipped through the cracks – those whose disappearances were never resolved and whose names risked fading from public memory.

When the team was formed in April 2022, more than 320 unsolved missing person cases sitting on its books. Today, that number has been cut to just 79.

Officers take on any investigation that has stalled, with some of their breakthroughs tracing back half a century. The Independent spoke to the team about their work, the cases that stay with them and why it remains vital that someone keeps searching for answers.

Police Constable Shaun Reeve, a member of the unit, said: “None of them have a voice today. A lot of them have been forgotten. A lot of people don’t even know they’ve been missing. I think they deserve for their story, their name, their face, to actually be put out there.”

Alongside the charity Missing People, The Independent is aiming to raise £165,000 to launch SafeCall – a free new service to help the 70,000 children reported missing each year find support and safety no matter what.

Donate here or text SAFE to 70577 to give £10 to Missing People – enough for one child to get help.

The team’s most significant breakthrough came with one of the UK’s longest-running missing person cases: the 52-year disappearance of Sheila Fox, who vanished from Coventry aged 16 in 1972.

“When I picked the case up three years ago… I thought it would be what we call a ‘quick win’,” PC Reeve said, explaining that many older cases had never been fully investigated. “It was actually my most frustrating case, because I couldn’t for the life of me work out what happened.”

With only a grainy, unrecognisable black-and-white photograph to work from, the case seemed stalled – until PC Reeve found a tiny microfiche negative buried in an old file. Using a machine in a local library, he enlarged it into a clear image.

He issued an appeal on social media on New Year’s Eve 2024. By the next day, two or three of Ms Fox’s old friends had come forward – unaware she had ever been reported missing. Their information gave officers the final clues they needed to find her.

“She was safe and well, there were no issues, that was the main thing. I don’t think she even knew that she’d been missing,” PC Reeve said. “You’re looking at tiny bits of information that could open up the whole case. Had it not been for that photo, she’d still be missing.”

Many of the team’s cases date back decades. Their oldest is that of Maria Aldridge, who vanished from Birmingham in 1968 at the age of 17. But they also handle contemporary cases that have reached dead ends; their newest began in May.

“Since we’ve created this team, we’ve managed to start from the beginning and really get our teeth stuck into a lot of these cases,” said PC Reeve.

Much of the original paperwork has vanished, been damaged or was never collected. But modern systems — facial recognition, digital trails, and vast online databases – now offer new routes into old mysteries.

“In some cases, we’ve got nothing to work on, and within a few months of investigation, it’s kind of snowballed into a huge investigation, a huge inquiry, where you’ve got a load of information,” he explained. “Every case is unique, and we are working on literally what we’re given, or what we find. Old images, we do a lot of facial recognition, there are literally thousands of lines of inquiry… We deal with everything from shoe experts to bag experts.”

Because the team works solely on long-term investigations, it leaves no lead untouched – and has even supported other police forces with similarly complex cases.

With social media and digital footprints now central to missing person searches, information is more accessible than ever. Sergeant Paul Horobin said: “Historically speaking, (it was) a lot of paper records. Nowadays, searching on the open source systems or public databases of government agencies, contacting departments of work and pensions, it’s a lot easier to get the information out now.”

Before 2022, the force simply didn’t have the capacity for this level of dedicated work. Cases were revisited sporadically, often by whichever officer happened to pick them up.

Now, the team “future-proofs” each investigation, ensuring that any officer years from now can clearly see what has been done. They also prioritise collecting DNA samples from families — something rarely done in older cases.

Every answer offers the possibility of closure, and every breakthrough restores a voice to someone who can no longer speak for themselves.

As PC Reeve puts it: “I think they deserve for their story, their name, their face, to actually be put out there.”

Please donate now to The Independent and Missing People’s SafeCall campaign, which aims to raise £165,000 to create a free, nationwide service helping vulnerable children find safety and support.

For advice, support and options if you or someone you love goes missing, text or call the charity Missing People on 116 000. It’s free, confidential and non-judgemental. Or visit www.missingpeople.org.uk/get-help