True Crime Collection

Disappearance of Ruth Wilson

Ruth Wilson is the daughter of Ian and Nesta Wilson, Her mother was born in Wellingborough on 1st May 1948 and was given the name Nesta Landeg by her adoptive parents. Ian and Nesta were married in 1976 in Newport. When Ruth was 4 years old and her sister, Jenny, was a few months old, Nesta died. According to the story told to Ruth by the family, Nesta's death was a result of an accidental fall down stairs, but her death certificate recorded her cause of death as suicide. The death certificate states that Nesta died by hanging on 10th December 1982. Unbeknownst to her family, Ruth became aware of the true nature of her mother's death before she disappeared.

Ruth's father, Ian G. Wilson, married Karen I. Bowerman at the end of 1983 in Surrey. Both Ruth's father and stepmother worked as teachers. Ian also served as a local parish councillor.

Ruth enjoyed reading, going on bike rides and music. She played the electric guitar and piano. She also had a Saturday job working in a music shop and was a popular local babysitter. She was studying for her A levels at The Ashcombe School Sixth Form when she disappeared. She attended her local church, St Michael's. She was a member of the choir, played the organ and enjoyed bell ringing.

Around October 1995, according to Catherine Mair, a friend, Ruth developed the belief that her biological mother's death was not as she had been told. She travelled to London to examine Nesta's death certificate. Ben Anderton, a schoolfriend of Ruth, says she ran away from home a month before her final disappearance and hid at his house in Betchworth.

Catherine was due to move to Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and Ruth had asked if she could come with her once she was settled. Ruth went missing a few weeks after Catherine moved. Catherine's mother recalled that Ruth had slept over not long before she disappeared and had been adamant that she did not want to go back home. Ruth did not explain why. Catherine has stated that Ruth had talked about running away but no suicide. Ruth's parents have refuted claims that her home life was unhappy.

On the Saturday before her disappearance, Ruth worked her usual job in a music shop in Dorking, then went for a meal with her ex boyfriend, Will Kennedy, and another friend, Neil Philipson. Will and Neil both stated that Ruth paid for the meal and told them it would be 'something to remember her by'.

Ruth went for handbell practice at the local church on Sunday, then went to a youth group in Dorking, then back to Will's for supper. His mother gave her some old clothing. Her family remembered her being relaxed.

Ruth's parents left early for work on 27th November 1995, leaving Ruth and her sister Jenny to catch the school bus. At the last moment Ruth told Jenny that she wasn't going with her on the bus. Jenny wasn't surprised as Ruth was in the sixth form and didn't always come in for the whole day, thought she was surprised that her sister left it so late to tell her before the arrival of the bus.

Shortly after Jenny left for school, Will appeared with his car and offered Ruth a lift. She declined, saying she would meet up later. She did not attend school at all that day. At around 11:30am, Ruth took a taxi into Dorking. Around midday, she ordered flowers for her stepmother from Thistles Florists at 257 Dorking High Street. Ruth asked that they not be delivered until the following Wednesday.

Ruth spent the afternoon in Dorking Library. Around 4pm she took a taxi from Dorking railway station to Box Hill. She was dropped off on a bridleway a short way from the Hand in Hand Pub on Box Hill. The taxi driver stated that Ruth displayed unusual behaviour in that she simply stood still in the rain as he drove off. This was notable as the taxi driver observed that people typically walk away after they have been dropped off. In other reports the taxi driver stated that Ruth appeared to be looking around for someone. The taxi driver was the last person to see her at 4:30pm.

At the time of her disappearance Ruth was wearing a red knitted jumper, black velvet trousers, black pixie boots and a small lady's watch on her left wrist. She had a small blue duffel bag with a personal stereo and tapes. Liam McAuley, a 58 year old retired police officer investigating the disappearance observed that Ruth was 'dressed to get into another car' implying that a third party may have been involved and running away seemed more likely than suicide. Liam also stated that disappearing completely would be 'very difficult'. Ruth disappeared 14 days before the 13th anniversary of her mother's death.

That night Surrey Police organised a search for Ruth with a helicopter, police dogs and heat seeking equipment. They searched the Box Hill area but found no solid clues as to her whereabouts. It was subsequently discovered that she frequently went to Box Hill after school. She was also concerned about her performance at school and had kept a school report from her parents that weekend.

On 29th November (2 days after the disappearance), the flowers ordered by Ruth were delivered to her step mother Karen. The flowers were described by Ian Wilson as 'an expensive bouquet' in subsequent reports. There was no note attached to the flowers. Ruth's friend Mair interpreted this gesture as 'sticking two fingers up' to her step mother.

On Friday 1st December (4 days after the disappearance), as reported in The Times newspaper police found 3 notes hidden under a bush in the undergrowth at the top edge of Betchworth Quarry on Box Hill. The notes amounted to farewells to her parents, her best friend and a teenage boy she knew. Nearby were found empty packets of paracetamol tablets and a half empty bottle of Vermouth. The police have never divulged the contents of the notes to the public.

On Saturday 2nd December (5 days after the disappearance) a large scale search was organised by the police and fire and rescue services which included 60 volunteers comprising local members of the public, school friends, colleagues and wardens from the National Trust. The search utilised a police helicopter, tracker dogs and thermal imaging equipment. A detailed search of the Betchworth Quarry end of Box Hill was undertaken by a trained search and rescue team along with employees of the owners of the quarry Nionisle Ltd.

Mark Williams-Thomas, who was the family liaison officer for Ruth's case, stated that extensive searches across Box Hill had yielded no evidence to suggest she was killed or committed suicide. He also stated that he was sure Ruth was not abducted by a stranger. Mark also stated that "From the experience I have had, I would suggest one of two things occurred. She either went up there to meet someone and has subsequently gone away, or she went there and died in some way."

On Friday 8th December 1995 Ian and Karen Wilson appeared on the Granada Tv breakfast programme This Morning to appeal for information. They stated that they believed that Ruth was still alive but afraid to come home.

8 months after the disappearance, Catherine Mair was visited at her new home in Sheffield by the police. The officers broke off from questioning her to look in her wardrobe, as if she might have been harbouring Ruth. The police assigned the code name Operation Scholar to the case. The unsolved missing persons case is reviewed on a regular basis and is being led by DCI Alex Geldart. Surrey Police have stated that the investigation would be re-opened if any new evidence of lines of enquiry came to light.

On 6th October 1996 Stuart Qualtrough wrote in The People newspaper: It is believed Ruth was spotted on the outskirts of London on Tuesday (1st October 1996) after cable station L!VE TV appealed for help on their Missing Persons' programme.

On the first anniversary of the disappearance a person thought to resemble Ruth was captured on CCTV at a Dorking newsagent's shop 2 miles from Box Hill. The female teenager was distressed and requested a copy of each of the local newspapers and became visibly upset when she was told that one had sold out. The newspaper shop owner reported the encounter to the police and saved the CCTV footage. The local newspapers featured reference to Ruth's disappearance. Ruth's parents stated in an article in The Times on 2nd January 1997 that they believed the girl in the video was Ruth.