Vanished: The Missing Surrey Schoolgirl (Unsolved Case Documentary) | Real Stories Original
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- 23 years ago a Surrey schoolgirl vanished. She left for school in the morning, never got there, was spotted that evening in local beauty spot Box Hill, then disappeared off the face of the earth... Two decades later, an ex-counter-terrorist cop living in the nearby town felt that something just didn’t quite add up and started to investigate. He contacted the journalist who originally covered the story to share his suspicions and the case was reignited, bringing new facts and new witnesses to light.
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27th November 1995, Ruth Wilson, a schoolgirl from Box Hill, Surrey disappeared. The day of this podcast episode release marks the 24th anniversary for Ruth Wilson’s disappearance from Box Hill, Surrey in England. Our host, Jake Wiafe, speaks with journalist Martin Bright who features in the investigative documentary about Ruth Wilson’s case; Vanished: The Surrey Schoolgirl. They discuss the mysterious events around the day of Ruth’s disappearance, the new information the documentary revealed, and the dealings with police, friends, and family while trying to uncover what happened to Ruth on that day.
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Try putting the name of the girl in the title and in the description because it doesn't say her name in both
Send me an email and I'll explain to you what happened to the girl and show you evidence. marco855@comcast.net
Oh ok
Horrific
So no new information or outcome to explain what was the video for...🤷🤦
I had a cat go missing 20 years ago & would still want to know what happened to him. How can parents not want to help further the investigation of a child.. They know something!
Donna Roberts I guess they did not want to live the rest of their life consumed by this. Police should have tried harder
i cat can live more than 15years in its life btw
I think, though most families never give up hope, some just learn to accept that their loved one is gone and they are never going to come back? X
I still look in cat shelters 5 years later
@Jennifer Davis
How did you lose two children, if I may ask?
Something was happening at home. There is no way my husband would 'want to move on' from one of our children going missing EVER.
Maybe she was ready to speak up
Maybe he was a pervert and didn't he work in a church I think they can get away with
The father remarried a year after the mother's suicide.
Yes creepy.
@@CH-pp2sg He remarried a year after his wife's suicide, so he clearly gets over things & moves on very quickly.
The secrecy surrounding this child's disappearance is disturbing.
Father doesn't want further investigation into his own child's disappearance.
Police refuse to assist.
Red flags.
I know right. It's just plain creepy. I have a theory.
👍
@@laurak9666 what is it ?
ERNEST0 BOLIVAR Are the police looking at the dad I know if it was my child I would turn the world upside down to find her not a stone unturned. My heart goes out to her.
@@laurak9666 what is it ?
I needed to run away from home once. I was very lucky to have a family friend that opened her home to me. Please pay more attention to the children in your lives. If you see the warning signs of someone hurting in silence, please speak up. Children are children and cannot go through things alone.
Dear alex thiele , I'm so happy to know you have such a kind and compassionate family friend who welcomed and cared for you! May God Bless your friend's family and you!
In my experience of teenage girls - having been one myself - they frequently lead double lives: an outward one of popularity, academic success and an apparently happy home life, and an inner one of misery and self-loathing.
@@louisakeen9316 how old r u now ?
And I agree.
When communicating is not open and honest in the home
@louisa keen I certainly did when I was a teenager. Looking back I got myself into so much danger.
From USA here: this happened to me. If not for the wonderful family of my dear friend, I might have ended this life.
She was told her mother's death was an accident, but then discovered it was ruled a suicide? Any chance that Ruth suspected it could actually have been a homicide? What led Ruth to start snooping? Could she have overheard a suspicious conversation between her father and stepmother? Maybe the father doesn't want to talk about Ruth's disappearance because he's afraid it may lead to questions about the death of his first wife. Ruth had run away before and returned home. Any chance she did the same thing this time and confronted her father? Maybe everyone has been looking for Ruth in the wrong place.
I was thing on the same lines.
It's very difficult to fake a suicide by hanging.
@@davidz2562 not really. There are two crime stories of two women who obviously was murdered but was ruled a suicide by hanging. The first one was 8n rural Alabama, or Georgia who was found hung on the mail box. Ruled a suicide by incompetent mysoginistic cops. And the most recent one in San Francisco in the mansion of a Billionaire Ruled a suicide by useless cops. Both cases are closed. The two families are fighting so hard to re open the cases unable to do anything because of the rulings. It is amazing that nowadays with all the technology and advancement of investigative schooling they are still missing the mark
@@alexandraschuster9700 I meant it's very difficult to convincingly fake it. In most cases where it's been faked, it's easy to determine that the person was murdered.
@@davidz2562 hey David, I understand now. I missed the mark on that comment
A girl goes missing in your town and everyone is just stepping right over it and not looking back especially the family. Strange times ten.
I would CRAWL around the whole EARTH to find MY child.
Sandra Myers snap my daughter was late home from school the other day. I went everywhere she might have been flew down to the school utterly terrified. Thankfully she had stayed behind to support a friend who was struggling with something. Most terrified half an hour of my life. I wouldnt have stopped. Not for a second. Knowing my child might be hurt, afraid or in need of help. Shocking!
It's been two and a half decades though. At some point I can see why they would feel they have to just accept she is gone forever and move on with their lives. I can't imagine the stress something like this would cause 24/7 and to live with that for decades would pretty much destroy your life. Sooner or later we all have to move on.
Until the ends of the earth, until I had my last breath, I would never, ever give up. Ever.
Sandra Myers 0 00
OMG I would have been terrified too, thank God she was safe
Mother commits sucide, not long after there's a new woman on the scene. Daughter sends flowers to stepmother before disappearing and the family don't seem at all bothered??? Something's off 🤔
I don't care how polite a teenager is, they don't send flowers to their stepmother. This seems like a ploy by the father to make it look like the daughter was still alive to be able to send flowers.
@@LisaMaryification I never once considered that....how awful.
What r u on about??? What's this got to do with THIS RUTH case
This 'new woman' / stepmother could have been hovering in the wings for ages before the biological mother's demise.
@@bernierose719 I just read the Chris Watts story and I can't fathom how a father can smother his own children to death. I believe that's what FBI profilers call "family annihilator"!
It is truly sad that sometimes strangers care more about you than your own blood💔
God bless this man, his unique style and his gorgeous fiancé.
@ To Kyo I feel u
who's to say her family didnt care? maybe they didnt want all their business and grief being dredged up again 20 years later to be put on show on some youtube film when its 99 percent chance the daughter is gone for good so its not going to bring back anything but grief. Very unlikely they were going to resolve the case by speaking to the family
One of the saddest things I've ever seen. I hope Ruth has found peace, wherever she is.
No father would shrug his shoulders and not want to pursue this case. I think he may have been abusive and the Mother threatened to leave or go to the police. Her "suicide" of falling down the stairs seems highly suspicious. The missing girl either successfully ran away, committed suicide herself, or was killed by the father. The father is at the center of it all.
Krista Roman yes, you just named 3 of 4 possible ways people disappear. Good for you. You are as close to solving it as anyone else.
Krista Roman thanks for the spoiler, on to a new video now..!
Krista Roman I was gonna post the exact same thing, I thinks there’s a high probability the father did something to her. The suspicious mothers suicide “fall down the stairs”, the daughter hating to go home, the fathers lack of interest in said daughter. When you put it all together it leads to a good chance it’s a familial murder.
GaLe FoRcE There is no spoiler. My comment was a theory. And anyone who reads comments before watching a video is asking for it.
n. p. I wasn't asking for a medal nor did I claim to know anything. My point was the father was likely a suspect. You should try being kind.
The father’s indifference is disturbing, I can’t imagine my husband behaving like this in this situation. As for the Police, their lack of action and their disinterest in this poor girl’s disappearance is peculiar. No one seems to have really cared about her until these two gentlemen came along.
I lost my daughter and only child 26 years ago. She died from a brain tumor. As much I have grieved & still grieving, at least I know where she is & what happened. To think about her just disappearing is something I think would actually drive me over the edge! I cannot imagine!
With all my heart and soul please know that I feel for you and your family. You are in my prayers ❤️
i am 67 years old. when i was 6 years old i was almost taken by 2 creeps in a car. it happened by random. i saved my life by running away before they could catch me. till this day i have no idea who could done this. i am a male
Brady and Hindley?
What happened from police
@@skinandskeletons949 Thats a good point.
What country are you from? And which type of area?
I was 5. Same thing happened to me, the 2 men were in a beat up VW, in a San Francisco suburb. My grandma saved me. She started beating one of them with a trowel. I’m still haunted. Because of this, I only had one child late in life, and the fear is still very real. Thankfully my teen daughter understands my trauma. She took Krav Maga and carries pepper spray to help make me feel less anxious.
Everyone grieves differently.
But to ‘move on?’ Never.
Surrey Police and the 'middle-class' Father refuse to participate. I smell some funny handshakes at play.
I smell satanic!!!!
Absolutely, they want it gone and buried.
That retired officer seems like a cool dude. His apartment is amazing and he looks so dapper.
Cassandra is that you ?
cas4040
I like his passion to find someone who has been missing for so long
Has he only got one shirt?
and his girlfriend is hot
When I was in my 20s, I found out that I was the product on an affair my parents were having at work. My dad is 20 years older than my mum (he was 57 when I was born). I'd always been told that my parents got together after their marriages were over. But actually, they were both still living as married people with their spouses when my mum fell pregnant with me and the whole thing was exposed. My dad had lied about his affair to his kids, even though they were suspicious (I have an older half-brother and half-sister from my dad's marriage, they were teenagers at the time). I found out the truth after my sister-in-law got really drunk one night and told me. I was devastated. So much made sense- why my half siblings pretty much ignored me, why my aunts and uncles had no contact with us, why my parents were so miserable together, why we never ever talked about their pasts (in any respect) prior to me being born, why we moved overseas when I was 2.
I'm sharing this because even in my 20s, this had a profound effect on me. I was angry at the cover up, and I questioned my identity since my existence had caused so much pain. Maybe if I'd never been born, my parents wouldn't even have stayed together? Maybe they would have stayed in their marriages and my siblings wouldn't come from a broken marriage. If I had found this out as a teenager, it would have been worse because of the stage of life you're at then- trying to figure out who you are and where you belong in the world. And obviously, my experience cannot compare to already growing up without your mum and then discovering it was suicide. I'm not saying that Ruth killed herself, but I am saying that a revelation like that would have rocked her to the very core and it sounds like her family (like mine) were emotionally distant and didn't talk about things, so where would Ruth have taken all that pain? I have never told my parents that I know. I love them and I know how it would hurt and embarrass them, and it was a long time ago. But I have been working through it privately to give myself some peace. I'm older, have life experience now and I have compassion for my parents. They were deeply ashamed and guilty, and just tried to handle it the best way they could.
I'm not criticising Ruth's family- they no doubt were trying to do the right thing and protect her. 20 years ago the thinking behind what to tell children was probably quite different from now, where we would emphasise transparency. I hope that one day someone will find out what happened to Ruth. Everyone needs this.
Aww, I'm sorry Julie. Although my parents did stay together, I've obviously seen close up how tough divorce is on kids. I'm sorry that you were kept out of the family stuff- probably exactly when you needed it the most! You probably felt a bit 'different' anyway after the divorce, you and your mum needed extra support not less. People can be so strange! I don't think anyone consciously blamed me in my situation. I think it was just all so difficult and awkward. My dad's first wife had been part of the family for 30 years, and then- boom- my mum's on the scene and pregnant! I think my half-siblings struggle was probably more with my dad's deception and so the distance was there (with me) kind of inevitably. My sister-in-law telling my the real story was actually helpful- the best way I can describe it is like a key turning in a door, when I'd always known there was something behind it. It made SO many things make sense! I also think sometimes that things just kind of 'slide' into place, and there's not always one decision taken at at point in time to set out 'this is what will happen.' Things just kind of get left, fall into place. My dad is very anti-social too, so I'm sure that played its part. I'm glad that I have a bit of life experience to understand how it all worked out. I don't blame anyone, it's just the way it is. And my half-siblings definitely had the harder deal, living through the infidelity and divorce, new sibling when they were grown up, etc. Is it too late for you reach out to some of your extended family? Sometimes it's all much easier after the passage of some time. Wishing you the best.
Thank you for sharing your stories! I hope both of you are doing well now.
I am, thank you! x
Ellie797 Oh lord thats though. I found out some traumatizing stuff when I was a young teen, as you say at that age you question who you are and everything that adds up in your head. I found my peace when I had my daughter, something amazing to focus on. I truly hope you find closure and peace. ♡
Thank you- I do have peace now. Glad that you do too- all the best to you and your daughter! Here's to healing through the next generation :) xx
As a mother with a daughter of my own, I have a hard time understanding how or why this family didn't jump at the chance of finding out what happened. I would not be able to rest until she was home, be it alive or dead. Also the police were more worried about their police procedure at the time being criticised than helping to find out what happened, maybe they know it was no where near good enough.
shish kebab maybe a back story here that's why police not wanting to help further. Maybe the flowers did have a card or the father some idea daughter considering suicide or going away. Not telling her truth about her mother and maybe failings by socual services etc caused poluce not to investugate too deeply
I also have a daughter, but I know what the media is like. If some random guy called me up and told me he was gonna make a film, I'd tell him to F off. (I'm not as polite as the English.) You don't know that guy. You don't know what his agenda is. Maybe it's to name you as a killer. Or maybe it's "only" to make some profit off your pain. There are very, very few genuinely altruistic people in the world. Most of them judge, just like you did, and one's best bet is to not fuel their fire. Which goes for the police, as well as the family.
@@tracishea5053 very true. And also the family had probably already dealt with a lot of media back then. This was probably one of many requests to talk to reporters in all those years.
@@alimmi9 Indeed. No matter what it is, at some point one has had enough. To watch this is to be convinced. Given the the exploitative slant the filmmakers put on the family, and the investigation, the correct decision was made.
EXACTLY
I wonder what was going on in her home life that she didn't want to go home? And what secrets are the family keeping.. something is really off.. I wish the mystery gets solved
Abuse probably
Does anyone else find it odd that a wife/mother "commits suicide," then a daughter goes missing, and the husband/father doesn't want it looked into any further?
My goodness me. If it were my child, I would be so grateful for anybody wanting to help and I would NEVER EVER GIVE UP ON SEARCHING FOR MY CHILD
nitay nunez Yes, because you are so much better than her parents. You can spend everyday looking for someone, but for 20 years!
Abigail she didn’t say that she was better than them, The fact that they want NOTHING to do with this sure is odd I’m not saying they did something but maybe they know, people mourn in different ways but to not want anything to do with it and not help with anything isn’t normal
@@ashleyb2968 ehhhhh theydidsomething...
School should have counseling for every student. Especially in high school many kids go through very difficult emotional situations
Her parents are fishy. I lost my ex girlfriend. I would do anything anything any given help anything even if a tree spoke to me I would go back to the tree for guidance. The parents refusing help is beyond odd to me.
So sorry about your girlfriend 😔
@@balisandra94 thank you
If one of my daughters were missing,I would never stop looking,ever.
The family’s indifference is beyond disturbing….. you don’t just not look for your child
Agree, something very off there.
I was doing my work experience with the company who made this back in November, and the guy who made it told me to look out for it. Fantastic to see the final product!
hey! youre tone deaf!
Did you work so closely that you would've noticed if things were left out? I'd love to hear if they knew or suspected more but left it out due to time constraints?
Fantastic it’s my third time watching . Outside the fact we don’t know what happened Ruth I feel like I don’t want it to end so soon and that there is so much more🤷♀️
I’ve always thought Boxhill was eerie, like a force was watching me. I never knew of Ruth Wilson’s case, despite living in the area as a child. It’s one of the strangest cases I’ve ever seen or heard of. Hopefully, there’s closure there for everyone involved one day. She was obviously loved.
Apparently it was sacred to the bronze age people who buried their dead up there . Perhaps there is some ancient energy still there.
@@leeetchells609 I’m sure there is!
Chanctonbury Ring in West Sussex has a similar feel (although less covered in trees) and that was used for the exact same purpose.
Wherever you are Ruth, i hope you are happier now ❤️😔
These women remembering and honouring their friend Ruth is so lovely and heartbreaking. My prayers for them. The hole a missing friend leaves is profound.
💙 Buffalo, NY
I find it extremely strange that the family didn't want anything to do with anyone offering their services.
So great to see somebody not related to the case wanting to take on research by himself, that's inspiring. Very odd the family didn't contact him back wanting to talk to him? You would think they would take all the help they could get. Frustrating that the police wouldn't let an ex cop who wanted to help them do their own job they clearly couldn't do themselves by giving some information.
Even if Ruth's father, Ian Wilson, knows nothing about her disappearance his behaviour regarding his daughter is pretty despicable.
come on, you can't say that. there is no right way to grieve. you don't know how you'd react in his shoes. people sometimes react bizarrely to bizarre events - we're not just robots following a script or template. humans don't all react to trauma the same way.
Agreed, it’s perhaps one of those stiff upper lip attitudes, not wanting to talk about things. I can understand wanting to protect his daughter but she had a right to know what had happened to her mum and the father should have sat her down and told her no matter how hard that would have been to do.
I agree, Laurie, but I think you've gotta take into account that Ruth was only sixteen when she disappeared. To a dad, that's still a little girl. I give him the benefit of the doubt that he would've told her. He was trying to wait till she was older. He just didn't realize how grown she actually was. Most dads of girls do that, so you can't really fault him for it.
I don’t know the details of her mother’s tragic death or how soon her father remarried but perhaps when she found out the truth she felt like the reason she hadn’t been told was not to protect her but to protect her father and stepmother and hence her telling her friend her whole childhood was built on lies etc.
Ruth found out herself and then she disappeared. She has NO ONE.
14:23 "they are worried that what we are doing is going to be critical of them, they're worried were looking back at the original investigation and we're going to say that there are flaws in it" of course there were flaws in it, They didn't find her!!
What assholes, they won't help find the girl because it could make them look bad.
Patrick Murphy ...... Precisely. They can't solve this case so they'll prevent others from assisting by saying this is an ongoing missing persons case and can't disclose information! And Ruth remains missing, very likely dead and undiscovered.
yes a suicidal person burries herself?
i know.. that also bothers me :/
To me they aren't cooperating (the family) because they have something to hide. Have they talked to her sister? Something is not right with that family.
The amount of secrecy surrounding the family disturbs me - how can you ever want to ‘move on’ after your child goes missing??
I love how these two care, how their voices catch with emotion.
Liam and his wife (?) look like they stepped out of a book! I love their clothes
AlaskaTheNerd hi!
AlaskaTheNerd fr ❤️
Retired police officer Liam is quit the snappy dresser 😁
timothy daedelus no😕. I just think he style of dress is cool.
Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.
Ohhh...that's why my wife buys most of my clothes.
He reminds me of the great train robbery criminal Ronnie Biggs. Maybe he inspired him at the Yard lol! The tied back greying hair is exactly the style of the fugitive who eventually handed himself in an old man remember!
SONIC FOXX MUSIC very smart.😎😎
I should imagine he started dressing like that when he got the cool girlfriend (I bet she's a painter or something like that).
I applaud these two men for continuing to take great interest in this mysterious case! I agree, that secrecy, especially within a family can tear apart the foundations of trust! I hope this gets resolved!
The fact that two of her friends belive Ruth had intended to disappear that day, maybe just maybe Ruth is still alive but has put her past behind her and doesn’t want to be found. If her childhood was as bad as it’s being reported then I can fully understand why she would want to walk away and not look back. The taxi driver said she stood at that gate in box hill as if she was either going to go into that area or she was waiting for someone to pick her up, I belive she was waiting for someone and didn’t want the taxi driver to see him/her. I do not belive her father was telling the truth regarding her childhood, I belive her friends in saying she had a really sad / bad childhood. I hope Ruth is still alive & happy in her new life.
I would die before giving up on finding my kid.
These two guys finishing each other's sandwiches. I mean sentences.
VinessaGaming ROFL
LOL😂😂
Haha!
Angela Jung ha
LOL
Ruth’s Mum taught at my school and I’ve followed the case for years but had no idea karen wasn’t her biological Mum and that she had recently found out how her bio mum had died. I hope the family find answers one day and peace. I search several times a year always hoping it would be resolved
Vikki George her Dad was my science teacher.
Hope the schools have more support services now and education to assist the pupils to be helped oif homes are unsafe.
From reports at the time: "On the Monday morning, her parents left for work early - Ian was preparing for an Ofsted inspection as head of science at the secondary school where he taught, and Karen, who was deputy head of a local primary at the time, also had a lot of preparation to do. Ian remembers being in a hurry and having pushed past Ruth, who was listening to her Walkman. 'I remember being annoyed with her,' said Ian. 'I said something like, "Out of my way. I'm in a hurry." I'll always regret that those were the last words I ever said to her.' The two sisters were used to catching the bus together to school, but at the last minute Ruth told her sister that she was not coming. 'I wasn't entirely surprised because she was in the sixth form and she didn't always come in for the whole day,' she said. 'I thought it was a bit strange that she left it to the last minute to tell me, but that was all." - Her dad and step-mum COULD NOT have been involved in the disappearance as they were both at work, with numerous witnesses. They would have had no idea that Ruth had taken a taxi to a library in Dorking and even less idea that she'd taken a later taxi to Box Hill at around 4pm. It would be impossible for them to have seen Ruth after the taxi driver last dropped her off. Ruth's family didn't even know that she'd been visiting Box Hill regularly (her friends did and the told the investigators accordingly) and the most likely scenario is that she'd been going to Box Hill to meet someone; possibly a lover. What happened on Box Hill is a complete mystery but it's very clear that her family was NOT involved given the specific timeline, the evidence and the witnesses available.
I'm not saying they were responsible for something nefarious happening (except abuse at home such as neglect, probably) but we are all shocked they don't give a flick about her, not then, not now..
@@the_endling they've buried her mentally and that's OK. You can't live a life looking into the past wondering if you coulda, woulda, shoulda. You have to keep moving forward else you're good for nothing. The world keeps turning. You go with it or you go mad. My brother disappeared over ten years ago. He contacted us last year out of the blue. We've all moved on. We have to. We didnt think of him every day after a while and we started to laugh with no guilt. We were all starting to wonder if he was still alive. He is. He's living a life he has chosen and is miserable in it. But he can't escape it. (mad gf, mad ideologies)... I'm sure her parents do wonder but they've had to close the book on it for now.
Have they investigated the taxi driver?
He was the last to see her alive.
i would walk to the ends of the earth to find my CAT if he got out. crazy that some people can just "accept" that their kid is gone and let that be that.
If my cat vanished I too would be looking and would never give up on her.
How could you live as a parent not knowing where your child is.
Have they looked into the taxi driver? Who is to say that he is not involved.
I agree. Many many times the last person to see the person alive had to do with their death or disappearance.
Maldwyn 27 न
Yes, that would be the first thought of anyone who's watched a lot of crime investigation stories. Happens too often.
@@susanh98110 im sure they will have investigated him, its pretty common procedure to look at the last person to see someone alive, the police are not stupid
Some officers are bone heads
Her Dad was my science teacher in secondary school. She went missing just after I started there. He was a proper old school man, and rightly so, looked like he had the world on his shoulders.
But he wasn't horrible, nasty etc. Unless he took the day off that day, which he obviously didn't, I don't see how he would have even got there in that time, at that time of day, let alone know she was there. Must be awful. I also know a woman who's daughter went missing a very long time ago. Carmel fenech, no trace, it's unimaginable :(
He may have been proper at his job but you never know how he acted at home.
@@susan1215 Exactly
Did this other person who went missing? Where they from or went missing in the same area? Or from the same location?? Etc.
Carmelle...hello, curious to know what you remember from that time, as far as the community, a town drunk, town wierdo, her family's reputation or anything at all you'd like to share. Or not. Hope you did well in science. Thank you cheers
Fenech? Was she Maltese?
Just scraping the surface. They clearly feel they don't want to "upset" someone. Taxi driver, her father and Church should be investigated at MUCH further depth.
The father was at work all day. He was a school teacher. It would've been impossible for him to be aware of Ruth's movements during the day. This line of thought was investigated at length and dismissed for obvious reasons.
Taxi driver
I think the father is involved somehow!
I think this is a classic case of uncomfortable questions NEED to be asked !
Did no one actually look at the screen when they discussed the mother's death? The death certificate stated 'hanging', so no, it was not a case of 'falling down the stairs'. It was likely explained that way to her because she was a young child at the time. I can only guess that her father and step-mother have forced themselves to accept and move on. People deal with grief in different ways and you can't judge that. Some keep searching their entire lives, while others pack away every picture and belonging. There's no 'right' way to mourn.
Wow that's interesting. You know my first thought on this was, mother falling down stairs and dying = very unusual way to die, and then daughter disappearing = doubly unusual. I related these two events together and thought if I were the police, i'd be taking a second look at the mothers death very closely if possible and trying to build up a detailed profile of the girls relationships and social life, in the years, months and days leading up to her disappearing. Did the police not look thoroughly enough into the domestic situation and relationships with her father and the ex-boyfriend maybe? These seem crucial to rule out completely in a case like this.
Based on what you said, that might give some explanation for the unusual behaviour, sending the red roses to her family home which arrived the day after she disappeared.. I wonder if she has committed suicide in those woods somewhere, did the police search properly it looks a massive area.
I agree. It's easy to judge as an outsider but in those days the view was "best left unsaid" rather than hurt a 3 yr old girl
True. But Ruth was not a 3 year old forever. She was 16 when she disappeared after she found out how her mother died. Was the mother's suicide ever discussed in her familly?
Crystal Shaulis who do you think you are uk
Did she own a dark blue suitcase? If that was her she was leaving town. No one packs a bag to end their life.
Robin Garrett they would if they don’t want to be found or if they want everyone to think that she I just leaving instead of ending her life
Lily Dawson true. But at that age I am not sure she would have planned to that level. A 40 year old yes. 16, not so sure.
@@Tom-uv7ry But a bag/suitcase would most likely have been found and linked to her. It's a theory!!!
Yes, because clearly you know about every case of suicide in the world.
Robin Garrett About suicides carrying suitcases: if you ever see a documentary on what’s called the ´suicide forest’ in Japan, you’ll see that in fact many people do bring belongings with them and even apparently camp out for several days before working up to the final act. The VICE team that went there walked the forest and found a number of campsites which had clearly been occupied for some time before being completely abandoned, months or even years before they were stumbled upon. They found pictures, love letters, all kinds of deeply personal items the person had apparently wanted to be surrounded by before ending it all. Incredibly sad and eerie.
When Ruth disappeared on Box Hill did the Police search there? With sniffer dogs?
We won't know as the police files are not open to find out.
29:56 "the thing about secrets is that they have a tendency to come out in the end"
Well it hasn't yet and its now 2021
@@lonewolf3137 though, it's not the end yet
I can't get over how Ruth's family seem to have moved on and are not interested in finding out what happened to their daughter. What strange people they must be!
Why have her family and friends just given up on her?!
It'd been 22 years when they made this film. Only two things can be true at that point. She's dead. Or, she does not want to be found. Either way, at some point you either just accept that for what it is, or go crazy.
Well...
The parents know more!! How convenient that they only found out after her dissapearance that she knew the truth about her real mothers death yet they also say she never questioned them about it....???
Interesting case. The last person to see Ruth and the one person I kept thinking about here was.....the taxi driver who drove her up to Boxhill on that day. How closely was he looked at?
Exactly my thoughts!
In fact they aren't giving any alibis.
But my first thought went to the taxi driver.
Super suspicious.
They should try and get the producers of the Unsolved Mysteries reboot on Netflix to do an episode on this, one of the best ways to get information about a cold case out there these days. One of those cases that has really struck a chord with me, I'm from the US and whenever I hear or read anything about Surrey or Box Hill I think of Ruth and her disappearance.
If they did more than one mystery per episode it would be perfect. I think some network should do a weekly unsolved mysteries like this and have viewers solve crimes
and forensic files II :)
I used to live close to Box Hill and know this area well.
The place where Ruth Wilson was last seen is not an obvious location to start a journey to another part of the country. Easier (though perhaps more visible) would be Burford Bridge or somewhere close to A24.
The father comes across in a very poor light, and it is hard to imagine that Ruth's life in a household with him was happy. If she could have hung on for two or three years more she could have got away to study or work.
One can speculate that she had planned to move away from the area immediately with the help of an acquaintance, but that things went wrong and foul play intervened.
But until more information comes to light, pure speculation is sadly all we have.
England has such beautiful countryside~
yes and the north of England , Wales and Scotland does too.
oh it's the best in the world
Gina Matheny ...... And this is all you took from this tragedy?
JohnPaul Dixon, everything else has already been said, ad nauseum. Is she supposed to repeat what every other commenter has said? She acknowledges what happened and thought she'd say something new.
L Vega .... well thank you for speaking on behalf of Gina, I'm sure she appreciates it. :-/
Hopefully this small documentary jogs people's minds and someone comes forward with vital information
i'd say start with an army of people and sniffer dogs search that hill first
I dont understand why and how does her family not want to keep pursuing her whereabouts? Her mom fell down the stairs or did the dad push her? Now the mom committed suicide? I really would ltake a closer look at the father.
My thoughts exactly.Maybe the Stepmother knew the truth, maybe she told this young girl the truth! Maybe that is why she sent flowers to her when she left?
You don't think they did that? The way everyone in the comments section is speaking, you'd think the detectives don't know how to do their job.
23:10 Her mother hanged herself. The stairs story is just something they told Ruth to hide the suicide from her.
yeah you are right i will copy your comment and post it again . i like the way you think
@@Jst4fun817 yes if they lied about that what else did they lie about?
Not even a scintilla of interest in resolving his daughter's disappearance - only an annoyance & distancing attitude at what may be revealed if he cooperated.
The response from the parents, finding out that Ruth had just discovered that her family had lied to her, that her mother had committed suicide, sounds BLAMING of Ruth. Like she had an obligation, a responsibility to talk to her family about what?? Her family lying to her??? 🤦🏽♀️ If this is how they treated her, obligated to them and their expectations and yet loose, if not void to have any of themselves to her, I wouldn’t want to stay there, either. Children & teens are constantly under so much pressure to adhere to expectations they do not understand. They’re growing and learning beings... they’re inside a process of developing and yet, so often, people treat them as though they should just know better, that their mistakes or their not following expectations, especially those unexplained, those that have not had communication and explanation and a chance for them to question & be heard, as though they’re defective adults. They’re not. They’re not defective and they’re not adults and they’re certainly not defective adults. They’re not defective children, either. But, I don’t think most people understand these things and so much more that they should, when it comes to the responsibility and real expectations of having a child. I think most people probably follow societal ideals and never question or get curious to anything outside of that. They’re certainly not taught.
She definitely would GET COUNSELING supports etc in schools now ....and help re safety at home ....
@@annegribben444Not definitely at all. Lots of kids fall through the cracks.
To a journalist and a detective it's an intriguing case... to the family, it's a painful memory. So although they dig and dig at anything they can get a hold of, there's a part of me that can understand the idea of a family no longer following up with anything. You have to be able to grieve, and part of the grieving process is to "let go", otherwise the emotional turmoil would wear you down incredibly.
Nothing could stop me ,if my daughter dissapeared - I would look for her for the rest of my life ,me and my husband
@@paulabialas2963 With respect, it is not possible to say that with 100% conviction until it happens to you.
i should not be watching this alone in the dark
Freya Winter ahaha I'm watching it alone in the dark in my garden
A sunny afternoon in Hawaii, covid lockdown
But usually alone in bed at night..lol
I believe there is a strong possibility she is still alive. She had a unhappy life and was clever enough to research how to competently run away and start afresh. She may have been aided by Catherine, her best friend, who still keeps the secret to this day...as best friend do. Ruth may even have watched this video. Wherever she is, I hope she is happy and well.
I don't think she's alive, sad to say. Someone knows something.
Yes maybe, her friends did seem to be keeping something...
Maybe you are Ruth
Are you Ruth ? ( If you are ? I dont expect a reply but it would confirm my suspicions ! Just saying....)
I think Catherine will tell more once Ruth's father is dead!!!!!
This site is so underrated. Quality docs with a variety of interesting topics. Thank you!
Ridiculous when police are worried about being criticized. Their only objective should be to discover the truth no matter how they get there
I believe she is still alive and her best friend in Sheffield helped her. How she quickly said, suicide, makes me believe she was trying to cover her tracks.
About as sad a story as I've ever heard. It was easier to disappear before computers, I think, but now it's easier getting help with a disappearance if that's what one really wants. I left home at 17 but, as soon as I turned 18, registered for college and resumed a normal life without the interference of my parents. They were the problem (and remained problems until they died), not me. Along the way I met other girls who 'd left and ended up prostitutes, addicts, jailed...but not lost. And the same disinterest her parents had after her disappearance may have been what motivated her into walking away...
Tobi Walker n
That’s real sad thing to happen
Great point... she may have realized they didn't really want her there...
What about the taxi driver ? Last known person to see her alive - did he drive back to pick her up ? Perhaps question him a little more
exactly. its his words only that he left her there… how do we know? no one elae saw her there. something is fishy
Yes, that was my first thought.
My thoughts. Exactly.
How not to feel sorry for Ruth?
Anyway, thank you for putting this up.
Really interesting story and well made doc.
How her father can be so cold and how can he even sleep at night? He probably didn't care much about her even when she was alive. No wonder why she wanted to run away from that selfish and digusting man.
If I was the parent of a missing child and someone genuine was looking into it you wouldn’t get me to stop talking to them
Some parts of England have to be the most beautiful places in the world.
yes but very wet and believe me it can get you down summer after summer can be wet wet wet,
Nah Scottish Highlands are far better
George MacDonald it’s a different type of beauty
@@thecatalunya1 that's why it's SO GREEN!
@@georgemacdonald206 Name man- far too many gnats and mossies between May and September- I lived there long enough to know!!!! Absolutely awful.
This is very near where I live, I walked down Dorking High Street this morning in fact! I have NEVER heard of this case !!
you look alot like her !!!!!
Me too I live very near here and box hill is somewhere I always visit and have never before heard of this case
wow, I live in the US and I've heard about this case years ago, has always haunted me
i was going to make a comment about the family... but lets face it... Ruth wilson is missing possibly dead, i dont know all the facts, and nothing worse than trial by social media...
Well said. Bravo.
Bit you did mention i...
Thomas Kilpatrick hjecjbzkv.f mñn gdm2gfmeñ4y
If she did run away she was only 16 and it's dangerous for a girl that age to be on her own. The internet barely existed so it's not like they can look up social media posts. Very few people had mobile phones either. She may have ran off with a person who hurt her. She's likely dead now. For a girl that age to start up a new life and identity would take a lot of research on how to get it done. It looks like she enjoyed the library though. Maybe she was researching.
Or she committed suicide, like her mother.
I was wondering if the detectives looked at the date of the suicide and the date of her disappearance? Maybe there's a connection. 🤔
Someone just posted she disappeared 14 days after the anniversary of her mother's death.
If this was my child who had disappeared i would not rest until I had some answers.
I wish the girl is stil safe
I wish she is somewer up there with a new identity
I wish her to be safe and alive..!
I wish.....
Stranger things have happened. What about the girls kidnapped in Germany kept in a garage by that guy until they had grown up. These cases are rare but they do happen where people are kidnapped and the so-called 'Stockholm Syndrome' can result in them bonding with their kidnappers and not trying to escape after a length of time being held captive, which explains how they can seemingly disappear without trace, and then turn up much later.
Yes arial castro case Ohio too, were a girl also had a baby from him, somewer i found they could have used their brains and had chances to escape a long bk bcz there wer moments dey wer eating together, spending time like a family wer they cud hv together attacked him using any of a hard obstacle, But they dint unfortunately. And i cud feel im aint sure but amanda berry a kinda had a corner fr him as he was comparatively good to her compared to other two girls for which Michael knight had told that she was given extra care by him which means somewer she was feeling possesive towards d kidnapper, as she also made a statement that he treated amanda like a wife and was not much concerned towards other 2. Which slightly indicates that she had grown feelings fr him but im happy they finally were escaped!
Tasmiya Ateeq I wish Donald Trumps plane would crash...and?
Sexy Cougar Trump may get killed on his UK visit. The extent of the danger he faces here is probably far higher than going to somewhere like Afghanistan. It's going to be a security nightmare unless they basically use half the entire UK police and close off all the roads and create police barriers. His car could be surrounded else. He is more at danger from the far left in UK than Islamists.
Tasmiya Ateeq ndm
An amazing documentary .A lot of silence in that village ..Beautiful places but tight lipped as you have shown . *
Agatha Christie country?
Barbara Arndt
Agatha Christie wrote primarily in Devon, although her books are set all over the world. I don't know if she set any specifically in Surrey.
I am from Cornwall, and couldn't see myself living in Surrey, though now I am in Bristol.
It was just an eample. I do know AC wrote in Devon. But what I wanted to describe was the cosy and prim country setting of a Miss Marple. Twitching curtains etc. but no one speaks out.
HelenaMikas agree!! The village is beautyfull
HelenaMikas ,
They often say that children of suicides are proportioately at much higher risk than others. Very sad story, I hope she is safe somewhere. 🙏💔💕💕
yes from a biological aspect also. Maybe she's accessed mental health services herself and in more recent years also.
When I heard that Ruth’s mother “fell down the stairs” which caused her death right away I was like you mean she was PUSHED down the stairs to her death smh
her mother died by suicide. she hanged herself, but they told people it was an accident to save face.
If my daughter ever went missing I would be turning over every rock, earth mounds, sand dunes and everything else, I would travel the world looking for her & I would definitely accept all help being offered to investigate. I would not rest until she had been found, no real parent would ignore someone offering them help to find out what happened to there child.
10 minutes in and the same thing has been said repeatedly.
Anastasia Wilson I noticed that to....... a boring start.
This story could be summarized in 10 minutes.
Most stories could be summarised in 10 mins but it is meant for the entertainment value
I think this is more about two old has beens trying to make a name for themselves.
armpitfuzz it's about a missing child who was dismissed without proper investigation. A total disgrace
I grew up in Guildford, which is next to Box Hill in Surrey. While I was quite young when this happened, most people around here if you ask are still convinced the father did something to her/to make her leave. The Surrey hills in general are large are mostly covered with loads of ditches and are easy to get lost in. There's also the canal right next to it, so I wouldn't be surprised if her body got lost around there.
Guildford is not next to Box Hill for starters and its not a canal its the river Mole.
Agent MarkY ok buzzkill 🙄
I live near box hill too!😮
Guildford is not close to Box Hill.
There isn't a canal next to Box Hill - it is the River Mole.
Mmm... Long time ago a psychologist told me that once there is a suicide in a family it is as it gives permission to other member of the family. For this reason I told my kids only when they where adult that there where some suicide in my family.
Sylvie Vicenza I hadn’t ever thought of that, but I believe it must be true.
Yeah. When a family member commits suicide, the other members are FAR more likely to consider or commit suicide themselves. Good idea, only telling your kids when they had grown up and matured.
My friend's mother committed suicide. He got to know about it only when he was 18 or 19. He began contemplating suicide for every harsh circumstances since then. It's like he got permission from his mom.
Maybe it suggests a genetic disposition that way?
Yeah so true! I'm suicidal and at one point I overheard that my dad have depression, and he has a lot of debts, my aunt and mom worried that he may commit suicide! When I heard this, the first idea cames to my mind is, if my dad ever did it, I'll do it right after, without any thinking.
I feel like Catherine knows more than shes letting on.
Dorking isn’t a happy town, you live there for long enough you realise it’s a town full of people only out of themselves and money.
I agree. I live in a village near Dorking. Surrey has very sinister undertones....
I lived in this area in 86 and used to ride my horse up Box Hill and around the whole area. It is really vast! And ulargly unacessable!
It seems certain that she was waiting to be picked up on that country road. I have ridden my motorbike many times towards box hill. That is somewhere it would feel exhausting to walk from. Somebody told her to go there for sure with the re-assurance of a pick up. This case annoys me
Ruth ~ Where EVER You are ~ _HUGS._ So Sorry about your Mom, I know how it feels.
Not a story I can say of mine, was never told, didn't know to ask. Glad I'm not 'home' now, but Never have had one since ~ I miss it.
It’s odd, if you search Ruth Wilson on the Internet it comes up with the actor, who is coincidentally also born in Surrey, and is 2 years off the ages of this person. Not odd just coincidence I guess
I don't think she committed suicide, in your story you said that she went to the beauty parlor that exact day, she wouldn't have gone to the beauty parlor to get prettied-up to go and commit suicide. She went and met up with some male she knew I believe, maybe for a weekend romantic fun getaway she thought and was murdered. Plus sending those flowers to be sent two days later was probably to smooth things over for being gone and in hopes her step-mother when she got back wouldn't be so angry because she believed that she would return after having a few days of fun of some sort. I believe a male who was nothing more then a true predator fooled her by his charms like most and murdered her.
Selfishly, the entire time I was watching this, I kept thinking "Ah! That's where I live!"
She was the same age as me. It's weird to think I walk the same paths she did.
What would I do if one of my friends went missing under these circumstances?
It would be horrifying.
I only stumbled upon this by accident yesterday... A close friend of my ex lives in Dorking and we all went to Box Hill a couple of times, but I had never heard of this case. I find it so hard to believe that someone can just vanish.
Very well assembled documentary. Keeps you hanging, and feeds details as they come to light. Quite apart from the girl's disappearance, all kinds of surrounding mysteries as well, as noted by others posting here. What seems startling is how little psychological insight is provided. If you go to the trouble to send flowers to your step-mother, which suggests a lot of anger, one might imagine you would also want to stage your death, though perhaps not. One element that is never addressed is how runaways--feeling fragile and upset and willing to turn anywhere--are among the most likely victims by predators who know they are alone and not thinking clearly. She may have decided to run away, as suggested by a suitcase, and found someone who said they'd be willing to "help" her. Boyfriend's initial remarks seem pretty frozen. Parents only speak up when their own reputations are questioned. No discussion about people's alibis either.
All great points!
I'm wondering about the taxi driver.
He was the last to see her ...
It's crazy on how Ruth could potentially be watching this video now? Or have already watched this...