'A bit late in the day': Family responds after woman missing for 50 years is found alive and well

3 January 2025, 15:03

The family of a woman who went missing more than 50 years ago has spoken out after police announced they had discovered her whereabouts.

Ella Fox-Martens, whose grandfather is reportedly the missing woman's cousin, took to social media to express the family's surprise after West Midlands Police announced the discovery.

In a post on X, she wrote: "This is my grandfather’s cousin. Just unimaginable scenes in the family group chat at the minute."

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Ms Marten-Fox also poked fun at the situation when responding to a poster who expressed amazement that the police force is "patting themselves on the back for releasing a photo of her 52 years later."

She responded that her missing family member has been "back for years", suggesting the announcement to be "a little late in the day.

The writer from Coventry said: "The most telling part being that she’d been back for years! “A bit late in the day,” as my great aunt put it… "

Sheila Fox went missing from Coventry in 1972 when she was just 16 years old.

She had been living with her parents but was believed to be in a relationship with an older man, West Midlands Police said at the time.

They kept an "open mind" over her whereabouts but were unable to trace her for decades.

Last week, the force issued a fresh appeal, after discovering a single photo of Sheila from around the time of her disappearance.

Within hours of it being released, members of the public got in touch with information leading to her.

Sheila was confirmed to be safe and well and living in another part of the country.

Detective Sergeant Jenna Shaw, from the Cold Case Investigation Team, said: "We're absolutely delighted to have found Sheila after more than five decades.

"We searched through every piece of evidence we could find and managed to locate a photo of Sheila.

"We are a small team of officers and I'd like to recognise the work of DC Shaun Reeve, who managed to resolve this case with help from the public.

"Every missing person has a story, and their families and friends deserve to know what happened to them and, hopefully, be reunited with them."