Police retain 'some hope' that missing Milton Keynes woman Leah Croucher may still be alive on third anniversary of her disappearance

The police officer in charge of the Leah Croucher investigation has revealed he retains some hope that she may still be alive three years after she disappeared.

Today, in the third anniversary of Leah vanishing, Det Ch Insp Andy Howard said there is still no evidence that anybody else was involved in her disappearance.

Asked if Leah could still be alive, he said: "The lack of information of what's happened to Leah is actually what gives me, and allows me to retain, some hope; we retain an open mind about what has happened."

He added: "At this stage there is no evidence or credible information to indicate that somebody else is involved in Leah's disappearance."

He admitted the case remained "bewildering", saying: "We are essentially no further forward in terms of Leah's movements."

Today police released a photograph of a blurred figure that could possibly be Leah, taken by a member of the public on Furzton Lake on the morning she disappeared, February 15 2019.

Published in the Citizen in December last year, the image shows a person dressed in black in the distance . Significantly it was taken at at 10.51am - two and a half hours after the last CCTV sighting of Leah walking to work that morning and more than two hours after her phone inexplicably left the network in the area of the lake at 8.34am.

In the background of the photo are several other people out walking that day and police have now appealed for them to come forward in the hope they may have information.

Experts have enhanced the image of one person who was walking her dog in the area.

DCI Howard is hoping the images will be widely shared on social media. He said: “The image we are releasing today is not of a high quality, but I am hoping that somebody will recognise themselves as being in this picture.

“I am keen to hear from the group of people in this image; it may be that you regularly walk in this area and will recognise yourselves.

"I would also like to hear from the person in the image walking her dog."

If the image in the photo is Leah, it would be the first ever sighting of her after around 8.20am on February 15.

It would also shift the whole timeline of the investigation, potentially opening it up to new witnesses and new information.

And it would also mean Leah made a conscious decision NOT to arrive at work at 9am that morning, opening up the question of whether she had perhaps arranged to meet somebody or someone had asked her to meet them.

DCI Howard said: “I’m am particularly keen to identify the person seen in the image who is dressed in black.

“This photograph was taken at 10.51am on the morning of 15 February 2019. It is not possible from the image to say whether or not the person dressed in black is Leah but we have witnesses in the area of the lake at around this time who describe seeing a young female in black clothing who is described as appearing distracted or upset, and possibly using her phone.

“Despite previous appeals we have so far been unable to establish the identity of this female and so if you believe this was you or you know who it is, please contact the police.

“Were you in the area of Furzton Lake between 10.45am and 11.30am on that morning? I know this was three years ago, but this image was taken the day after Valentine’s Day, and just prior to the school half-term break, and so it may be that you remember being in the area, or you walk in this area regularly."

DCI Howard added: "Again, I appeal to the public. Somebody out there... knows something. Please, please come forward as the family deserves nothing less."

Any piece of information, no matter how small, may help in the search for Leah. Anyone with information should call Thames Valley Police on 101, quoting reference number 43190049929 or ‘Operation Dawlish’.

People can also visit the dedicated portal for this investigation here, visit their local police station or, for total anonymity call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

There is still a £20,000 reward for any information that leads to Leah being found.