Leah Croucher’s parents have spent an agonising three years and eight months waiting for answers after their daughter disappeared on 15 February 2019.
Leah, 19, vanished as she walked to work at a finance company and was last seen on CCTV just after 8.15am in Buzzacott Lane, a two-minute drive away from a house in Furzton, Milton Keynes.
But it was only four days ago on Monday, 10 October, when Thames Valley Police (TVP) received a tip-off from a member of the public, that they started searching the property in Loxbeare Drive.
Image: Officers are guarding the property in the Furzton area of Milton Keynes
Officers discovered items including a rucksack and personal possessions belonging to Leah.
Officers had visited the house on at least two earlier occasions during the investigation but there was no response.
They dropped a leaflet through the letterbox asking for the occupant to call if they had information.
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The force has since changed its investigation from a missing person’s probe to a murder enquiry – as Leah’s parents revealed how their “darkest fears had come true”.
Detectives insisted it is the first time Leah’s disappearance was linked to the address, despite a huge search involving 4,000 house-to-house calls.
TVP said on Friday that during the entire investigation to find the teenager, “there has been no direct link between Maxwell and Leah until Monday”.
Image: A billboard appealing for information at Westfield shopping centre in west London
What have the police done to find Leah since she disappeared?
TVP said on Friday that from the “very outset” of its investigation, the “most experienced and capable detectives, led by a senior investigating officer” were assigned to the case to demonstrate the force’s “determination” to find the 19-year-old.
In a statement released on Friday, Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter insisted “every reasonable line of enquiry” had been pursued “immediately and thoroughly”.
Efforts to locate Leah included:
• Deploying hundreds of officers and staff to search for the teenager • Reviewing 1,200 hours of CCTV • Conducting more than 4,000 house-to-house enquiries • Searching lakes, open land and woodland • Media appeals and offering rewards for help
Leah’s parents said they believe police could not have done anything differently and thanked them for their efforts.
They have described their ordeal as “one of the most difficult times of our lives”.
Image: Neil Maxwell
Missed opportunities to arrest prime suspect Neil Maxwell
Handyman Maxwell was hired in 2018 to complete some maintenance at the property in Loxbeare Drive, whose owner lives overseas.
Maxwell was the only person with keys to the house, which was unoccupied when police visited to conduct their enquiries into Leah’s disappearance.
Maxwell was previously convicted for sexual offences against women and was wanted in connection with a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell, on the outskirts of Milton Keynes, in November 2018.
The attack was initially reported to Bedfordshire Police on 29 November 2018 before the case was transferred to TVP the following day.
The force made a total of 18 failed attempts to arrest Maxwell – initially at an address in Milton Keynes on 30 November, when he was not present.
A nationwide chase ensued with police trailing the suspect around the country.
Maxwell used false names and changed mobile phone and vehicles
Mr Hunter said in a statement: “Maxwell knew he was wanted in connection with the sexual assault and was travelling across the UK and making concerted efforts to evade arrest, including false names and changing his mobile phone and vehicles.
“He is likely to have known that he would be returning to prison if he was arrested and convicted.”
TVP also shared Maxwell’s name with other forces in December 2018 and launched a public appeal on 4 April 2019 – just over a fortnight before he was found dead.
Image: Leah Croucher went missing on 15 February 2019. Pic: Thames Valley Police
Mr Hunter added: “In April 2019, when we published our wanted appeal regarding Maxwell in connection with the sexual assault in Newport Pagnell, and during our entire investigation to find Leah, there has been no direct link between Maxwell and Leah until Monday this week when we were called about the property in Loxbeare Drive.
“If Maxwell were alive today, we would be seeking his arrest in connection with this investigation, so he could be interviewed under caution to provide his account.”
“Whilst Maxwell has been nominated as a suspect, this does not mean he is guilty of any offence,” Mr Hunter added.
He vowed the force would keep an “open mind” as the investigation continues in the hope of “establishing the truth”.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting Op Innsbruck or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.
The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.
Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.
The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.
Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.
In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.
He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.
Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”
He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”
At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.
The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.
Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”
The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.
Image: Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Image: Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.
Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.
Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.
After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.
Image: Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.
She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.
Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.
A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.
She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.
“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”
Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.
She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.
Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.
Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.
The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
A ‘vile’ former police officer who was caught in a sting operation after travelling to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old boy has been jailed.
Thomas Kettleborough, 35, then an inspector with Avon and Somerset Police, was arrested in July 2023 while attempting to meet up with ‘the teenager’ after communicating with him on Grindr and Snapchat.
However, he was actually speaking to undercover officers.
After being detained at a car park in Bristol, officers found a bag in the boot of his car containing “an assortment of sex toys, condoms and bondage equipment, including a pair of limb restraints,” Exeter Crown Court heard.
More than 150 indecent images of children were also discovered on his phone and computer.
Kettleborough used the apps to have sexually explicit chats with the teenager, using the name Liam, while claiming to be 28, prosecutors said.
In February, he pleaded guilty to several child sex offences, including attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
Last month he was sacked by Avon and Somerset Police and barred from policing for gross misconduct.
He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on Thursday.
Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall, from Avon and Somerset Police, said the public would be “appalled by the vile and manipulative actions of this former officer”.
She added: “He was caught following a policing operation designed to keep children safe which has resulted in his wider offending being identified.”
Detective Inspector Dave Wells, who led the investigation, said Kettleborough’s crimes took place over four years,
The former officer held positions of trust in the police, the Sea Cadets and the Royal Lifesaving Society, but “concealed his true identity through an online persona as ‘Liam’, ‘L S’ and ‘Liamss5506’,” Mr Wells said.
Mr Wells added: “Specialist investigators are ready to listen and investigate any reports relating to Thomas Kettleborough or any other matters of concern. I want people to know that they will be believed.
“Thomas Kettleborough is now behind bars. I hope if there are others that have been affected by this case, they now feel empowered to tell someone, if they are ready to do so.”
Lee Bremridge, defending, said Kettleborough had shown genuine remorse for his crimes.
He added that the former officer had “done everything that he can attempt to do to try and understand why it is he committed the offences that he did.”
Kettleborough was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.