April Fabb (22 April 1955 – disappeared 8 April 1969) was an English schoolgirl who disappeared on 8 April 1969, when aged 13, between the villages of
Metton
''Metton'' is a runny French cheese made in Franche-Comté, mostly used as an ingredient for making Cancoillotte. The traditional process to produce Cancoillotte with metton is to cook it in an earthenware pot with some water or milk, then to add ...
and
Roughton Roughton, as a person, may refer to:
*Roughton "Rou" Reynolds, English musician in the post hardcore band Enter Shikari
*Julian Roughton, the current Chief Executive of Suffolk Wildlife Trust
Roughton, as a place, may refer to:
*Roughton, Linco ...
in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, England, United Kingdom.
Background
At around 1:40 p.m. on Tuesday 8 April 1969, Fabb left her home at 3 Council Houses, Metton to visit her sister's house in
Roughton Roughton, as a person, may refer to:
*Roughton "Rou" Reynolds, English musician in the post hardcore band Enter Shikari
*Julian Roughton, the current Chief Executive of Suffolk Wildlife Trust
Roughton, as a place, may refer to:
*Roughton, Linco ...
. Travelling by
bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
, she had a packet of ten cigarettes, 5½
d and a handkerchief in the saddlebag, and was planning to deliver the cigarettes as a birthday present to her brother-in-law. Just after 2:00 p.m., she was seen cycling along the country road towards Roughton.
At around 2:15 pm, her blue and white bicycle was seen lying in a field near
Metton
''Metton'' is a runny French cheese made in Franche-Comté, mostly used as an ingredient for making Cancoillotte. The traditional process to produce Cancoillotte with metton is to cook it in an earthenware pot with some water or milk, then to add ...
by two
Ordnance Survey
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workers; a passing motorist later took it to a
Cromer
Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline.
The local government authorities are Nor ...
police station.
Search
Despite an extensive police investigation and search of the surrounding area, no trace of Fabb was found, and the reason for her disappearance remains unknown.
Her disappearance led to the biggest police search operation the
UK had seen, with the authorities having searched 400 houses, conducted hundreds of interviews and recorded close to 2,000 statements since 1969.
Further searches for Fabb, including the use of
thermal imaging camera
A thermal imaging camera (colloquially known as a TIC) is a type of the thermographic camera used in firefighting. By rendering infrared radiation as visible light, such cameras allow firefighters to see areas of heat through smoke, darkness, o ...
s in 1997 and the excavation of a
well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
in 2010, failed to produce any fresh leads.
At the time of the
disappearance of Genette Tate
The disappearance of Genette Tate is a missing person case in which a 13-year-old girl disappeared while delivering newspapers in Aylesbeare, Devon, England, on 19 August 1978. Despite extensive searches, Tate's body has not been found and the c ...
in August 1978,
Norfolk Constabulary
Norfolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Norfolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 908,000 in a mostly rural area of , including 90 miles of coastline and 16 rivers, including the B ...
pointed out to
Devon and Cornwall Police
Devon and Cornwall Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of Devon and Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly) in England. The force serves approximately 1.8 million people over an area of .
Hi ...
that there were strong similarities with the Fabb case. Both cases are unsolved and no link between the two has ever been proven.
Child murderer
Robert Black was questioned over the two disappearances.
In popular culture
In 2018, a play called ''Into Thin Air'' was inspired by Fabb's disappearance.
See also
*
List of people who disappeared
Lists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated. Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ''in absentia''. Some of these people were possibly subjected to enfo ...
*
References
Further reading
*
* Morson, Maurice (1995, rev: 2007, further rev: September 2012). ''The Lost Years: The Story of April Fabb''. Redbridge Books. .
External links
*2018 ''
Norfolk News
The ''Norfolk News'' was a regional weekly newspaper, published every Saturday, in Exchange Street, Norwich, England.
The publication was founded in January, 1845, and ceased publication in 1961. The area it covered was the whole of Norfolk. Copi ...
'' article pertaining to th
ongoing investigation into the disappearance of April Fabb*
April Fabb - 50th anniversaryNorfolk Police
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabb, April
1955 births
1960s missing person cases
1969 in England
Missing English children
Missing person cases in England
People from North Norfolk (district)
Place of birth missing (living people)
Living people
20th-century British people