Yahoo! UK News
10th March 2011
A missing woman who was presumed dead has been tracked down and reunited with her family 57 years after she mysteriously vanished.
Florence McLellan, 74, who is originally from the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester was found alive and well in Islington, London by police detectives following her disappearance in the '50s.
Unbeknownst to her family, 17-year-old Florence escaped from Brockhall mental institution in Lancashire and fled 200 miles to London in 1954, changing her name to Diane Roberts.
She had been sectioned by her parents after giving birth to a son out of wedlock, and was forced to give the baby for adoption.
Her extraordinary discovery was made possible when the missing woman's surviving relatives responded to a media appeal for information after suspecting that a skeleton dug up by builders in a car park in Manchester city centre last year could have been Florence's.
According to Greater Manchester Police, DNA tests ruled her out as the body and were able to crack the case after a year-long missing person's investigation leading them to her astonishing finding in the capital.
Florence, a mother-of-two and a grandmother-of-five told the Manchester Evening News: "I was really worried when I got a phone call from the police because I thought I would be sent back to Brockhall. I'm so relieved I don't have to go back. This has all come as such a shock but it has been a weight off my shoulders."
Son Glyn Roberts, 47, added: "Our worlds have been turned upside down by this. I always thought I was my mum's first born. I feel like I'm just beginning to get to know my mum again. There have been tears and cuddles but she is the victim in all of this."
The Roberts family now want to trace son, Joseph, who was put up for adoption 57-years-ago.
DCI Joanne Rawlinson, who is leading the investigation into the murder, said: "Things like this make the job worthwhile. Out of the sad set of circumstances we are investigating there has been a happy outcome for this family."
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police told Yahoo! News that they were continuing with their enquiries into the identity of the remains found in the car park.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Major Incident Team on 0161 856 4337 or 0161 872 5050.
Written by Gaby Leslie
Source: Yahoo! UK News 10/03/11
10th March 2011
A missing woman who was presumed dead has been tracked down and reunited with her family 57 years after she mysteriously vanished.
Florence McLellan, 74, who is originally from the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester was found alive and well in Islington, London by police detectives following her disappearance in the '50s.
Unbeknownst to her family, 17-year-old Florence escaped from Brockhall mental institution in Lancashire and fled 200 miles to London in 1954, changing her name to Diane Roberts.
She had been sectioned by her parents after giving birth to a son out of wedlock, and was forced to give the baby for adoption.
Her extraordinary discovery was made possible when the missing woman's surviving relatives responded to a media appeal for information after suspecting that a skeleton dug up by builders in a car park in Manchester city centre last year could have been Florence's.
According to Greater Manchester Police, DNA tests ruled her out as the body and were able to crack the case after a year-long missing person's investigation leading them to her astonishing finding in the capital.
Florence, a mother-of-two and a grandmother-of-five told the Manchester Evening News: "I was really worried when I got a phone call from the police because I thought I would be sent back to Brockhall. I'm so relieved I don't have to go back. This has all come as such a shock but it has been a weight off my shoulders."
Son Glyn Roberts, 47, added: "Our worlds have been turned upside down by this. I always thought I was my mum's first born. I feel like I'm just beginning to get to know my mum again. There have been tears and cuddles but she is the victim in all of this."
The Roberts family now want to trace son, Joseph, who was put up for adoption 57-years-ago.
DCI Joanne Rawlinson, who is leading the investigation into the murder, said: "Things like this make the job worthwhile. Out of the sad set of circumstances we are investigating there has been a happy outcome for this family."
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police told Yahoo! News that they were continuing with their enquiries into the identity of the remains found in the car park.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Major Incident Team on 0161 856 4337 or 0161 872 5050.
Written by Gaby Leslie
Source: Yahoo! UK News 10/03/11
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