Family seek answers after Crumpsall woman missing since 1969

The daughter of a woman who disappeared 55 years ago has said her family have "come to a dead end" trying to find out what happened to her.

Isabella Skelton went missing in June 1969, aged 35, from her home in Crumpsall, Greater Manchester.

Lynda Chapman said she was told by her dad her mother had gone to work away and "that was basically it, I didn't see my mum."

She started searching for her in 1978 and reported her missing in 2019.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) started investigating, with the Cold Case Review Unit treating it as a murder inquiry.

A man was arrested on suspicion of Ms Skelton's murder in 2019 but no-one was charged.

Ms Chapman said not knowing what has happened to her mum has been "horrible" for all of her family.

Her mother disappeared from their home on Lidiard Street two weeks before her 15th birthday.

"In the beginning, it sounds selfish, but I was surprised she had left before my birthday," she told BBC Crimewatch.

She said there was one possible sighting of her mother in Glasgow but it was never confirmed.

"My husband and myself went to Glasgow, tried the electoral roles, telephone calls, long lost families, my daughter even wrote to Cilla Black," she said.

"Now we've come to a dead end really."

She said the entire process had been "horrible" and she found her mother's absence "traumatic" when she had her own children.

Head of GMP's Cold Case Review Unit, Martin Bottomley, said the missing persons' inquiry became a criminal investigation after officers learned there had been no physical or digital sign of Ms Skelton in the decades since her disappearance.

Officers had searched the family's former home in Crumpsall after receiving information about ground being disturbed but "there was no sign of Isabella there".

"We excavated both the garden and the cellar for a period of 12 weeks.

"We're still on the search to get Linda some answers."

Glasgow-born Ms Skelton, nee McDowall, mother of three children, moved to Manchester in the early 1960s, first living in Salford and then in Crumpsall.

She worked at Atlas Express in Blackfriars, Salford and is also believed to have worked at Gallagher Cigarettes and Ball Bearings Services, the latter at the time of her disappearance, police said.

"We really need to hear from anyone who knew Isabella when she was living in Crumpsall or has seen her since," he said.

"Perhaps she's moved on to Glasgow and assumed another identity but I think that's unlikely.

"If you've heard from her, if you've seen her or know anything about her disappearance please get in touch."

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