Sheila Fox: Woman who vanished from Coventry 52 years ago found alive and well as police praise breakthrough

Sheila Fox, who was 16 years old when she disappeared in 1972 from Coventry, is now living in another part of the country.

At the time of her disappearance, Fox had been living with her parents. Police suspected she might have been in a relationship and had possibly left the region. A grainy photograph of Fox, taken around the time she went missing, was shared online by West Midlands Police on Sunday in an effort to generate new leads.

The move paid off swiftly. Within hours, members of the public came forward with information that enabled police to locate Fox. The West Midlands Police confirmed: “She is safe and well and living in another part of the country.” The discovery marks the end of one of the force's longest-running missing person investigations.

Detective Sergeant Jenna Shaw, from the Cold Case Investigation Team, expressed her joy at the breakthrough. “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,” Shaw said.

She also praised the efforts of her colleague, saying: “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."

Shaw added: “Every missing person has a story, and their families and friends deserve to know what happened to them and, hopefully, be reunited with them.”