A fresh appeal of what Britain’s longest missing person could look like has been launched 67 years after she vanished.
Mary Flanagan’s disappearance left investigators and her loved ones dumbfounded. At just 16, the sugar refinery worker completely vanished on the day she was supposed to attend her employers’ New Year’s Eve party.
She has been missing since December 31, 1959, and has been labelled the longest missing persons case ever in the nation. Now Missing People has launched a fresh appeal almost 67 years after she vanished.
View 4 ImagesMary has been missing for 67 years (Image: Jam Press)
A picture of Mary, who would be 83 now, has been generated to show what she might look like today. The image shows the East Londoner with short grey curly hair, mirroring the haircut she had when she vanished.
The last sighting of her was near West Ham tube station after she left her family home to attend the party. The annual New Year’s Eve celebration took place at the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery in Silvertown, London.
View 4 ImagesMary Flanagan would be 83 today(Image: Jam Press/Missing People)
In 2013, when the case was reopened, her family claimed she may have eloped with a man she had been seen with frequently in the weeks building up to her disappearance. The man, known as Tom McGinty, may have been an Irish labourer.
Acting on limited information, the Metropolitan Police were never able to track down the suspect, with even his real name remaining a mystery. Mary’s family suggested she may have been pregnant at the time, which may have caused her to run away.
Her loved ones stated it would’ve been a major thing to have told Catholic parents at just 16-years-old that you were pregnant out of marriage. The appeal has been launched after what would have been Mary’s 83rd birthday on 9 June.
View 4 ImagesA fresh appeal was launched to find Mary (Image: Jam Press/Missing People)
A spokesperson for Missing People said: “It is Mary Flanagan’s birthday this week. Mary, aged 16, went missing on 31 December 1959 from Newham, London.
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“The image on the left is an age progression of what Mary may look like age 83. Mary we are here for you whenever you are ready; we can listen, talk you through what help you need, pass a message for you and help you to be safe.”