Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast dedicated to missing
people, unresolved cases, and UK true crime. Today's day six of twelve
days of missing person episodes throughout December, and in this episode we're going to
be discussing the case of Susan Ford. Susan disappeared in twenty twenty two while
she was in Scotland and has not been seen by her family since. This
episode is about a missing person and so does not contain any graphic details,
but listener discretion is always advised. Starnaway is the main town on the island
of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides, and is the most populated town
out of the islands. Away is an important port and the bulk of the
economy in the area comes from fishing and the production of Harris tweed, although
tourism is also a relatively prominent part of the town. Starnoway is accessible through
a ferry which runs several times daily, and there is also some access through
Starnaway Airport, which has links to Edinburgh and Glasgow. In October twenty twenty
two, fifty six year old Susan Ford traveled to Starnaway and checked in to
the Callared Inn. This hotel is located relatively central to the town center and
also to the port. Susan was originally from the village of Fossa in County
Kerry in the Republic of Ireland, and she worked as an occupational therapist.
She had set up a not for profit business called Slanow's Stroke Rehab, which
sought to help stroke victims to get back on their feet. In March twenty
twenty two, Susan made the decision to relocate her life and she moved to
the city of Montpellier in southern France. It reported that Susan regularly kept in
contact with her family while she lived there, and they believed that in October
twenty twenty two that she was still there. They had not been told by
Susan that she had plans to go anywhere else. Her family reported that they
were in contact with her until around mid October, when they then lost contact.
This was concerning given that Susan had kept in regular contact with her family
normally during this time. It's now known that Susan had traveled to Scotland,
and specifically to Stornaway. She had checked herself into the Callard Inn hotel in
the town, and it was here that she was spotted On Sunday, October.
The SIXTEENTHTV from the hotel showed Susan leaving at around five ten pm.
She was wearing an orange top, a dark colored jacket with a white lining,
a white scarf, blue trousers or jeans, walking boots, a cream
or gray colored tammy jacket and some black glasses. She was also seen carrying
a backpack. It was known that when she left the hotel she got into
a taxi. Susan asked for the taxi to take her to the village of
Barv. Barv is around fifteen miles north of Starnaway and is a small,
relatively remote village. She asked to be taken to the Barv country House Hotel,
which is a four star hotel in the area. The taxi drops Susan
in the car park. However, this is where Susan's trail appears to end.
It reported that she did not enter the hotel that day and she has
not been seen since arriving in the car park. This behavior was unusual for
Susan and the reason why she traveled to Scotland appears to be unknown. The
fact that it was also unknown where Susan went after this point was also concerning.
Susan's family were immediately worried when no one had heard from her, and
is reported in The Irish Independent that that same week they went on to social
media to try and search for her. In a social media post, her
family asked for the public's help and said maybe you sold her a plane,
train, ferry or bus ticket. Maybe she was in your taxi, Maybe
you recognize her from a hospital admission, or maybe you saw her on a
beach or served her a coffee. They hoped that someone could account for her
whereabouts. Police Scotland were made aware that Susan had traveled to star Away and
began to make inquiries. It was at this point that they were informed about
her movements at the Collard Inn and then the subsequent taxi journey to barv country
House Hotel. In the couple of weeks following Susan's disappearance, police tried to
search for her in the vicinity of where she had last been seen. Police
Scotland issued an appeal for information as they were also worried about her welfare.
On the eleventh of November, almost a month since her disappearance, Sergeant Donald
MacLeod from Stornaway Police made an appeal to the public, saying we are becoming
increasingly concerned as there have been no sightings or contact from Susan since she was
dropped off by the taxi in barv I am asking anyone who may have seen
her and knows where she is to get in touch. I'm also asking people
to check sheds and outbuildings in case Susan has sought shelter. Police Scotland is
seeking the assistance of the public in trying to locate a fifty six year old
woman missing since October twenty twenty two. Susan Ford left the Republic of Ireland
in March twenty twenty two to travel overseas. She traveled to Scotland in October
twenty twenty two, visiting the capitol before she made her way to the Isle
of Lewis. Police are becoming increasingly concerned as there have been no sightings or
contact from her since then. Her family is understandably worried and want her home
safe. Lamul Holland, Susan's cousin, made an appeal on behalf of the
family, saying that they were worried and they were desperate for her to come
home. Police called the Coastguard into the search effort for Susan. Given the
proximity of her disappearance to the coast. Lifeboat crews were also called in to
assist. They scoured the areas in the vicinity of where Susan had last been
seen. It's reported that teams spent two days searching villages, moorlands and the
coast around Barv. The Starnaway R and l I also conducted a search of
the coastland around Starnaway in the hope that they would find any evidence as to
where Susan went. This search, however, was suspended on Sunday, November
thirteenth, and Starnaway Coast Guard Rescue Team issued a statement about their involvement,
saying at this point Susan remains missing and our search is suspended pending further investigation
and review by Police Scotland. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at
this difficult time. We would like to thank the community of Barv for their
assistance and both Barv House Hotel and the Clan Macquarie Community Center for accommodating our
control points. Irish politicians also got involved with highlighting Susan's disappearance. Irish mops
Sean Kelly and Maria Walsh supported the family's social media appeals and Maria Walsh reached
out to people in her French network who may be able to help with information.
Sean Kelly expressed that Susan is a friend of the family as he is
also from close to the area of Fossa, and he said he felt for
her family. He stated, Susan is a close friend of our family and
a neighbor of ours in Fossa. My thoughts are with Susan's family, who
are exceptionally decent and gifted people. I sincerely hope we get news of Susan's
whereabouts soon and echo the family's appeal for information. A spokesperson for the Department
of Foreign Affairs has said that they are aware of the case and that they
are providing consular support. As with all consular cases, the Department does not
comment on the details of any specific case. Despite the searches that were conducted
for Susan, she was not located, and over a year later, she
remains a missing person. Her family are desperate for answers as to what happened,
and they would love to find her. It's reported that they have set
up an email address for people to get in contact with them directly. This
email address is please find Susan twenty twenty two at gmail dot com. I
will link this in the show notes as well as Susan's missing person profile.
It's clear that Susan was a beloved family member and friend and she is much
missed. Her loved ones deserve to know where she is. So if you
know anything about Susan Ford's disappearance in October twenty twenty two in Starnaway, then
please contact Police Scotland on one oh one, quoting the reference number one two
six' two. Thank you for us listening to episode six of our twelve
Days of Missing Person episodes throughout December, listening in two days to episode seven.
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us on social media as our ways. I'm Caprice and this has been unseen b