One of West Midlands Police's longest missing person cases solved after 50 years

West Midlands Police says it has solved one of its longest-running missing person investigations.

The force recently published a renewed appeal to help find Sheila Fox, who went missing from Coventry in 1972. Now, Sheila has been found and spoken to, with officers confirming she is alive and well.

A single photo of Sheila from around the time of her disappearance was found by officers investigating and published on their website and social media.

Within hours of the appeal, members of the public got in touch with information which led the team to her.

Officers said Sheila was confirmed to be safe and well and living in another part of the country, finally resolving one of the longest running missing person cases the force has investigated.

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."

Missing people can be from all ages and backgrounds, often with vastly differing reasons for going missing.

The cold case team reviews and re-investigates the longes, most complex and protracted missing episodes which have remained unsolved.

With advances in forensics and technology, the team is able to pursue leads which weren't necessarily available at the time these cases were first reported.

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