Detectives ‘haunted’ by Suzy Lamplugh case at 40 year anniversary

On the day she vanished, Lamplugh’s diary noted an appointment with a man listed only as “Mr Kipper” in Shorrolds Road.

Her white Ford Fiesta was later found abandoned nearby but there was no trace of the estate agent.

She was declared “presumed dead” in 1993.

Det Ch Insp Teresa Foster from the Met Police said she believed Lamplugh may have been targeted by a stalker.

She had been given a desk in the office window because her employers thought she was attractive and would draw in customers.

Foster said: “I’m more inclined to believe that stalking side, that someone has seen her, a predator of some type, and then lured her into a false meeting.”

The theory chimes with the cause taken up by Lamplugh’s parents, who set up the Suzy Lamplugh Trust after she vanished. The charity campaigns on personal safety and runs the National Stalking Helpline.

Foster said it was the fact Lamplugh had never been found that continued to trouble officers.

“It haunts myself as the senior investigating officer, and I think that comes down to the fact that Suzy’s never been found,” she said.

Her wish, she added, is still to “bring Suzy home”.