'We find it hard to believe nobody saw Leah Croucher,' say police as the missing girl's 21st birthday approaches

Officers have narrowed down the area in which she vanished and are urging members of the public to cast their minds back to the morning of Friday February 15 2019. Even the smallest piece of information could be the key to solving the heartbreaking mystery, they say.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Andy Howard from the Major Crime Unit said: “On the morning of Friday, February 15, 2019, Leah left her home address in Quantock Crescent (Emerson Valley). We know that at 8.07am, she was spotted on a CCTV camera in Leigh Hill, just a matter of metres away from Quantock Crescent.

“At 8.16am, Leah was seen again on CCTV in Buzzacott Lane, approximately a ten minute walk from her home address. She was heading in the direction of Dulverton Drive, towards Tellytubbie Hill.

At 8.34am Leah's phone was switched off and then she vanished. There has been no confirmed sighting of her since. Her bag, phone and clothing has never been found.

The disappearance has baffled police, who have carried out hundreds of searches for Leah and issued numerous appeals for witnesses.

DC Howard said: "I find it very hard to believe that nobody saw Leah on the morning of February 15."

He added: "If you are a resident of these areas, or were at the time of Leah’s disappearance, or if you are somebody that regularly uses that area to commute or for exercise please cast your mind back to that day and particularly that morning. It was the day after Valentine’s Day and the last day before the schools finished for half-term.

"Did you see a girl matching Leah’s description or did you see or hear anything that caught your attention that you may previously have thought was insignificant? If so, and you haven’t yet spoken to the police we need to hear from you."

Leah walked to work in Knowlhill most mornings, and it is believed that she was on her way to work as usual at this time.

She would often take different variations of her walking route. Police know that on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 February Leah crossed from Furzton into Shenley Lodge and walked up Faraday Drive towards Knowlhill. But they also know she would sometimes walk the routes that took her directly around part of Furzton Lake.

DC Howard said: “Leah’s workplace is in Davy Avenue, which means that Leah’s walk to work is approximately two miles long. It is a busy route through largely residential areas, and therefore I believe that at such a busy time in the morning it’s highly likely that other members of the public will have walked, cycled, or driven past her. Somebody must have seen Leah after she passed the CCTV camera on Buzzacott Lane.

“I would like to reach out and appeal to the residents and commuters in this area, particularly Buzzacott Lane, Dulverton Drive, Loxbeare Avenue and the roads close to Furzton Lake, as well as Faraday Drive and the roads surrounding it. Were you travelling along the H7 Chaffron Way that morning?

“We know these locations were such a feature of Leah’s weekday routine. She would have been walking along these roads and streets, between Emerson Valley, through Furzton and Shenley Lodge and into Knowlhill habitually between 8am and 9am each weekday morning."

Leah was 19 when she vanished. She will be 21 on Friday, and next week will be the 18 month anniversary of her going missing.

On the morning she disappeared, Leah, who has shoulder length brown hair and sometimes wears glasses, was dressed in a black coat, skinny black jeans, black Converse high top trainers and she was carrying a small black rucksack.

In particular, she was wearing a grey Stewartby Taekwondo hooded top, with a colourful logo. This is a distinctive top, and police hope that it is one that someone would remember seeing.

DC Howard said: “We are again appealing to the public, on this landmark date in Leah and her family’s life, for anyone who may know anything at all, to come forward and speak to police.

“We are taking this opportunity to re-issue some images of clothing and personal belongings that Leah was known to have had with her on 15 February in the hope that it prompts somebody’s memory.

“The smallest piece of information could be absolutely key in helping us to move on with this investigation, and open new lines of enquiry for our officers to explore.

“A £10,000 reward, offered by two local donors, is still available to anyone who has information that directly leads to us finding Leah."

He added: “Leah’s disappearance has had a devastating effect on her family and it is difficult to comprehend the distress and anguish that they have had to deal with over the last 18 months and will continue to endure until Leah is found. This week she should be celebrating her 21st birthday surrounded by her family and friends.

“If anybody has any information that may assist us in finding Leah please do the right thing and contact us. Please consider the impact on Leah’s family of them not knowing what has happened to her and help us to give them the answers they are so desperately seeking.

“Leah, if you are able to see or hear this appeal, please contact us. We just want to know that you are okay and to be able to support you. You are not in any trouble and anything you wish to tell us will be treated in confidence and with sensitivity. Many, many people are wishing for your safe return.

Information can be left via the dedicated website for this investigation, which is called Operation Dawlish. It can be accessed here. Or you can call 101 or visit a police station, quoting investigation number 43190049929.

Since Leah vanished, police have received more than 550 reports of information and potential sightings from members of the public across the UK.

They have completed more than 1,200 investigative actions and reviewed over 1,200 hours of CCTV.

More than 4,000 properties have been visited in house-to-house enquiries and there have been large-scale poster and leaflet drops across all Milton Keynes postcodes.

A total of 390 separate search tasks have been completed as part of extensive search activity across Milton Keynes. Resources used to support these searches include specially trained search officers, specialist dog units, volunteer search and rescue teams, drones, a specialist land and marine search team, a marine support unit and searched by the police mounted section.