Leah Croucher: The quiet teenager who vanished on her way to work

On the morning of 15 February 2019, teenager Leah Croucher set off from the family home in Milton Keynes to walk to work. She never arrived.

The 19-year-old, described by her family as shy, witty and funny, was reported missing but, despite extensive police searches, her body was not found until October 2022.

It was discovered in the loft of a house on Loxbeare Drive in Furzton, just minutes away from Furzton Lake, where she was last sighted.

In the inquiry into her death, police named a suspect as a convicted sex offender who was found dead two months after Ms Croucher disappeared.

On the fifth anniversary of her disappearance, the police investigation is over, but the outcome has not been made public. It is hoped an inquest in June will bring closure.

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The last known sighting

Leah Croucher was last seen by her family the night before she disappeared in February 2019

Leah Croucher’s parents said they last saw her at the family home on Quantock Crescent at 22:00 GMT on 14 February.

Earlier that evening, she had told her parents she was going out to meet a friend, but police later established this was not the case.

They also said she had changed the settings on her mobile phone at about 17:45, possibly to disable the phone’s location services.

Where Ms Croucher went, or whether she met anyone that evening, remains a mystery.

Wearing a black coat, black skinny jeans, black Converse trainers and a grey hooded top bearing the “Stewartby Taekwondo” logo, she was captured on CCTV on the morning of 15 February, walking in the direction of her work in Milton Keynes, but she was never seen or heard from again.

Thames Valley Police launched a massive search, visiting 4,000 homes and searching Furzton Lake on 19 February and the Blue Lagoon in October.

Three people reported possible sightings of her near Furzton Lake, about half a mile from where she was spotted on camera.

They described her as being on her phone and two said they saw a female who was visibly angry, upset and crying.

A map showing the various locations connected to Leah Croucher investigation

An anniversary appeal in February 2020 brought forward 20 new reports of information.

Thames Valley Police said at the time: “None of them are a confirmed sighting of Leah or confirmed report of her location.”

The missing person’s inquiry continued.

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The discovery

On 10 October 2022, police received a phone call, which led them to the loft of a house on Loxbeare Drive, where they found her rucksack and personal items along with human remains.

Eleven days later, the force said the body found at the house belonged to Ms Croucher but a post-mortem examination had been “inconclusive” and could not establish a cause of death.

An inquest opening for Ms Croucher heard that she had to be identified through dental records.

A murder inquiry was launched and on 14 October 2022, detectives named a suspect – a man who was dead.

Convicted sex offender Neil Maxwell remains the only suspect.

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Leah Croucher: A timeline

What have the police said?

Police suspect convicted sex offender Neil Maxwell killed teenager Leah Croucher

In January 2023, Det Ch Supt Ian Hunter said Thames Valley Police was “absolutely committed to establishing the truth” and Ms Croucher’s family are “at the heart of everything we do”.

Hundreds of officers and staff worked on the search for Ms Croucher. Officers scoured more than 1,200 hours of CCTV and specialist search teams, the mounted section, police dogs, the marine unit and the National Police Air Service had all been called in to help find her.

Police said they had visited the Loxbeare Drive property twice in 2019 during their house-to-house enquiries, but there was no answer and leaflets were left. It was not until a call from a member of the public alerting them to the house that the force had any reason to connect it to Ms Croucher’s disappearance, the force said.

At the time Ms Croucher went missing, Maxwell was on the run from police in connection with a sexual assault in Newport Pagnell in November 2018, and he had previous convictions for sexual offences against women and children.

The force said at the time of her disappearance, he was the only person to have keys to the property on Loxbeare Drive, having employed by the home owner, who lived abroad, to carry out maintenance at the house. Maxwell’s registered address was three miles away in central Milton Keynes.

Officers believe he altered his appearance at the time he was on the run to evade arrest.

Det Ch Supt Ian Hunter named Neil Maxwell as the suspect at a press conference

An e-fit image of what Maxwell may have looked like was issued after no-one could place him in or around Milton Keynes since December 2018, three months before Ms Croucher disappeared.

Police believe he was using false names and had stopped using his known vehicles and mobile phone.

The BBC understands Maxwell’s offending began in 1998 when he raped a child. He was jailed and put on the sex offenders’ register.

Between 2002 and 2018, he was convicted of raping a woman, sexual activity with a child, sex offences against a girl under the age of 16 and sexually assaulting a woman in Milton Keynes.

He was found dead in a bike shed a few blocks from his home on 20 April 2019, having taken his own life.

An inquest later that year stated that “he left a suicide note”, although the contents have not been made public and the question remains about whether anything in that suicide note pointed to a connection with the Leah Croucher case.

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‘It’s soul destroying’

Leah’s parents John and Claire Croucher said they were “broken” by not knowing where their daughter was

During her disappearance, the Croucher family made heartfelt appeals, describing her as “a bright, confident and loving 19-year-old who enjoyed fantasy fiction”, saying she was generally “very quiet” and “family-orientated”.

She had competed internationally in taekwondo, but her father said she was “not a fighter”.

John and Claire Croucher described not knowing what had happened to their daughter as “soul destroying”.

Their torment was magnified by internet trolls creating fake social media accounts pretending to be her.

After the discoveries in Loxbeare Drive, Ms Croucher’s parents left a note and flowers at the scene.

It said: “Our darkest fears have come true, we only need to be apart a little longer. We have so missed you for so long already.

“The future looks so bleak now we know we will never see your smile or hear your laughter again.

“We will cherish your memories forever.”

Jade Croucher (left) pictured with her sister Leah (right) who she described “a beautiful girl inside and out”, with a “personality which people warm to instantly”.

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Laid to rest

Leah Croucher was laid to rest on 3 March 2023.

Leah Croucher’s coffin was pulled by a horse drawn carriage through the streets of Milton Keynes

Her family said the messages of support they received had “taken our breath away” and invited the public to line the streets on the day of the funeral.

Many mourners turned out along the route of the cortege, as a horse-drawn carriage moved through Furzton, Shenley Brook End, Shenley Church End and Grange Farm.

A private service was held at Crownhill Crematorium while the Church of the Servant King opened its doors for members of the community to remember Ms Croucher.

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What next?

It is more than a year since the inquest into Leah Croucher’s death was opened, on 25 January 2023.

It was suspended because of the police investigation, but Milton Keynes Coroner’s Court issued an interim death certificate to allow the family to proceed with funeral arrangements and is now set for 19 and 20 June.

On 18 January 2024, Thames Valley Police said its investigation was complete, but it has not released the details publicly.

“A file has been submitted to the coroner for their consideration within the coronial process,” a police spokesman said.

“As these are active coronial proceedings, it is not appropriate for us to comment further on the investigation until the inquest process has been concluded, so as not to prejudice any findings.”

In a statement Ms Croucher’s family said they were “happy to have a date for Leah’s inquest”.

“There is a lot of information yet to be shared to us and our legal representation.

“We are looking forward to seeing that”, the family added.

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