Unsolved case · 1969
Also known as Izzy Skelton · Isabella McDowall
The short answer
Isabella Skelton, a 35-year-old mother of three, vanished from her home in Crumpsall, Manchester, on 5 June 1969. No confirmed sighting of her has been recorded since. Following a family report in 2019, Greater Manchester Police launched an investigation, later treating the case as a murder inquiry; no charges have been brought.
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Suggest coverage for Disappearance of Isabella SkeltonIsabella Skelton, known as "Izzy," was born Isabella McDowall on 21 January 1934 in Glasgow, Scotland. Described as petite with black wavy hair and a neat, classic dress style, she married Lewis Skelton in 1952. The couple relocated to Greater Manchester, first living in Salford before settling in the Crumpsall area, and had three children together. During the 1960s, Skelton worked as a typist at several local employers, including Atlas Express, Gallagher Cigarettes, and Ball Bearings Services, the last of which employed her at the time she disappeared.
On 5 June 1969, Skelton was last seen at her home in Crumpsall. Her disappearance came two weeks before her daughter's fifteenth birthday, and coincided with one of her sons being hospitalized with a broken leg. According to her daughter, the children's father told them only that Skelton had "gone away for work," providing no further explanation, and they never saw her again.
Skelton's daughter married in the early 1970s and began actively searching for her mother after the birth of her second child in 1975. She and her husband traveled to Scotland to consult the electoral roll and worked through every McDowall listed in the telephone directory in an attempt to trace relatives who might know of her mother's whereabouts. She also pursued genealogical research, but no information about her mother's location or fate emerged. The daughter has said that their father never discussed the disappearance, describing it as a "taboo subject" within the family, and that she later became estranged from him.
In the decades since 1969, there has been no record of Skelton claiming a pension or receiving medical care, and no confirmed sightings of her have surfaced. She was also notably absent from her brother's wedding.
In 2019, Skelton's family formally reported her missing, prompting a police investigation. In October 2020, a man was interviewed under caution on suspicion of her murder, though no charges were filed. In 2021, police carried out excavation work at the Crumpsall home where Skelton lived at the time of her disappearance, but no human remains were recovered. Greater Manchester Police confirmed in 2023 that the case was being treated as a murder investigation. The disappearance was subsequently featured on BBC Crimewatch in 2024, more than five decades after Skelton was last seen.
Isabella McDowall born in Glasgow, Scotland.
Isabella McDowall marries Lewis Skelton.
Isabella Skelton last seen at her home in Crumpsall, Manchester.
Skelton's daughter begins searching for her mother following the birth of her second child.
Family formally reports Skelton missing; police investigation begins.
A man is interviewed under caution on suspicion of her murder; no charges brought.
Police carry out excavation work at Skelton's former home; no human remains found.
Greater Manchester Police confirm the case is being treated as a murder investigation.
Skelton's disappearance is featured on BBC Crimewatch.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
35-year-old mother of three who disappeared from her home in Crumpsall, Manchester, on 5 June 1969; case now treated as a murder investigation.[3]
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SOLVEDListenCrumpsall Lane, Crumpsall, Manchester, UK · 2000s
DC Stephen Oake, a Greater Manchester Police anti-terrorism detective, was fatally stabbed on 14 January 2003 while helping restrain Kamel Bourgass, an Algerian illegal immigrant wanted in connection with the Wood Green ricin plot, during an immigration raid in Manchester. Bourgass was convicted of Oake's murder in 2004 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
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SOLVEDListenJunction of Oldham Road and Queens Road, Miles Platting, Manchester · 1990s
PC Raja Ahmed, a Greater Manchester Police motorcyclist, was killed on 31 August 1999 when Steven Draper, driving a suspected stolen car, deliberately rammed Ahmed's motorcycle into a busy road junction where he was struck by a lorry. Draper was convicted of murder in 2000 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Credit: Adam.J.W.C.CC BY-SA 2.5SourceUNSOLVEDListenGlenelg Beach, Adelaide, South Australia · 1960s
Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont vanished from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide on 26 January 1966 after being seen in the company of an unidentified man in his mid-thirties. Despite one of Australia's largest police investigations, the children were never found and the case remains unsolved.
Credit: FBIPublic domainSourceCOLDListenOscoda, Iosco County, Michigan · 1969
Two teenagers, Patricia Spencer, 16, and Pamela Hobley, 15, vanished on Halloween night, October 31, 1969, in Oscoda, Michigan, after being seen walking together in town. Neither girl was ever found, and authorities believe both were victims of homicide, though the case remains unsolved.
Credit: Unknown authorPublic domainSourceUNSOLVEDListenCameron Highlands, Malaysia · 1967
American businessman Jim Thompson, credited with revitalizing the Thai silk industry, vanished while walking alone in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands on March 26, 1967, and was never found despite a massive search.
