Suzy Lamplugh, one of the country’s most famous missing persons cases, would have turned 60 this week.
The Fulham estate agent was 25 when she disappeared, and would be turning 60 on May 3 this year.
Lamplugh went missing on 28 July 1986 after leaving the estate agent where she worked to drive to Shorrolds Road to meet a client.
She was never seen again.
She was officially declared dead in 1993, presumed murdered, but no one has ever been charged in connection with her disappearance.
Lamplugh was working at Sturgis Estate Agents on Fulham Road when she vanished without a trace.
She was last seen meeting a man outside the property in Shorrolds Road and walking away with him at around 1pm.
In her diary she wrote that she had an appointment with a Mr Kipper, although efforts to trace him were unsuccessful.
Her car, a white Ford Fiesta, was discovered later that night outside a property on Stevenage Road in Fulham.
The keys were missing and the handbrake was off, but her purse with money inside was still in the car.
The leading suspect in the case was John Cannan, who is currently serving a life sentence for the abduction and murder of Shirley Banks in Bristol in October 1987.
He was convicted in July 1988 and it was believed he may have been responsible for Lamplugh’s disappearance, although there was insufficient evidence to charge him.
Cannan had been released from a prison hostel just days before Lamplugh vanished, having served time for raping a woman at knifepoint and threatening her son.
Cannan’s alleged nickname in prison was Kipper and he reportedly bore a striking resemblance to an e-fit of her abductor.
In November 2002 at a Scotland Yard press conference police named Cannan as their prime suspect, but they were unable to prove his guilt.
He will be eligible for parole next year.
Lamplugh’s parents Paul and Diana Lamplugh established the Suzy Lamplugh Trust in December 1986, with the aim of raising awareness of personal safety and reducing the risk of aggression and violence.
Her parents were both awarded an OBE for their charitable services
Diana Lamplugh passed away in August 2011 aged 75, and Paul Lamplugh passed away aged 87 in June 2018.
Images: Catherine Meyer-Funnell
