Investigation

First to raise the alarm is her manager. He contacts her mother, Diana, and alerts her to her daughter’s disappearance. That evening at 6.45pm he contacts the police. Initially Suzy’s disappearance is logged as a missing person’s enquiry. But as the facts start to emerge, the police begin to fear she’s been abducted.

“Within the Sturgis Estate agency nobody really knew who (Mr Kipper) was. He wasn’t a regular customer. That night we stepped up what would have been a normal missing person to a very high risk missing person inquiry.” Mick Jones, Retired Detective Constable.

One of the first places the police visit is Suzy’s flat. Having to break into the apartment they discover nothing of any consequence. It’s clear she hasn’t returned home. The hope of a breakthrough comes when her company car, a white Ford Fiesta is discovered on Stevenage Road, about 1.5 miles from where she was last spotted. It’s 10.01pm and it’s been found badly parked and unlocked with the keys missing. Due to the position of the driver’s seat, it’s clear she wasn’t the last person to drive the vehicle.

Needing help fast, “Superintendent Carter goes public very quickly on this case and the help of the media is massive.” Mick Jones, Retired Detective Constable. But the large influx of information means the police are struggling to process all the lines of enquiry. By the beginning of August the police have had over 700 calls regarding information about Suzy. One hundred of these are from people who claim to have seen Suzy on the day she vanished. The public interest in this case continues to grow. When shops start to sell out of personal alarms, it’s clear fear is gripping the nation.As police exhaust all lines of enquiry, the trail goes cold. The Lamplugh’s are without their daughter and without answers. In 1987, a year later the police wind down their investigation.

Is this simply a case of a missing person, or has a murderer managed to escape justice?