Speaker 1: Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast
Speaker 1: dedicated to missing people, unresolved cases, and UK true crime.
Speaker 1: Today we're going to be exploring the disappearance of thirty
Speaker 1: six year old Davina McMillan from Cambridgeshire in nineteen ninety three.
Speaker 1: Her disappearance caused many who knew her to immediately know
Speaker 1: that something was wrong and have been searching for answers
Speaker 1: ever since. This episode is about a missing person and
Speaker 1: so does not contain any descriptions of violence, but listener
Speaker 1: discretion is always advised. On December twenty seventh, nineteen ninety three,
Speaker 1: a missing person report came in to Cambridgeshire Constabulary from
Speaker 1: a man named Gary Coulson. While Gary lived in the
Speaker 1: north of the country, he was about his thirty six
Speaker 1: year old sister, Divina. Devina lived in the town of
Speaker 1: god Manchester in the district of Huntingdonshire in Cambridge. She
Speaker 1: was originally from the Lancashire town of Acrington, where she'd
Speaker 1: grown up as one of five children. Her brother Gary
Speaker 1: later said she was the only girl in the family
Speaker 1: and my mum doated on her. Divina loved her family
Speaker 1: and was very close with her mother. She had moved
Speaker 1: to live with her husband, Andrew and her four year
Speaker 1: old daughter in Cambridgeshire. Andrew worked as an RAF serviceman,
Speaker 1: and Divina herself had previously worked for the RAF. She
Speaker 1: had been stationed both in the UK and Germany, and
Speaker 1: she was dedicated to both her family and also her career.
Speaker 1: By nineteen ninety three, Divina was looking for something new
Speaker 1: in her professional life, and she'd enrolled at Huntingdon Regional
Speaker 1: College as a mature student. Just after Christmas of nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety three, Divina's brother Gary was concerned when he hadn't
Speaker 1: heard from her for a while. He was all the
Speaker 1: more worried when Christmas came and went and he hadn't
Speaker 1: heard anything from Divina. Their mother wasn't feeling well during
Speaker 1: that time, and Divina had also not been in touch
Speaker 1: with her. Considering that they were close, this was a
Speaker 1: huge concern for him. He was so worried that he
Speaker 1: decided to ring the police to report her missing. Cambridgeshire
Speaker 1: Constabulary became involved in the investigation into where Divina may
Speaker 1: have gone. Divina lived inhaling Close in god Manchester and
Speaker 1: this was where the investigation centered. Early on The disappearance
Speaker 1: was reported by her brother. However, it's unclear how long
Speaker 1: her disappearance had been noted by those close to her
Speaker 1: in Ksebridgeshire, like her husband Andrew, this has not been
Speaker 1: reported on. Police went to her home and could not
Speaker 1: locate her. It was reported that there didn't appear to
Speaker 1: be any evidence as to where she could have gone
Speaker 1: that had been found at the home. They did have
Speaker 1: some information about the last time that Divina was seen,
Speaker 1: and this came from someone that saw her leaving her
Speaker 1: house in hailing Close on Thursday, November the twenty fifth.
Speaker 1: This last sighting took place at around nine pm, and
Speaker 1: the witness said that Divina left her home with a
Speaker 1: man and some suitcases. They reportedly got into a white
Speaker 1: Bedford van and drove away from the home. While it
Speaker 1: was unclear who this man was or where Divina was going,
Speaker 1: police had heard some things that Divina had reportedly told friends.
Speaker 1: She had told people that she was going to look
Speaker 1: for work in Germany, where she'd previously been stationed. Other
Speaker 1: friends also stated that she had said she was going
Speaker 1: to study at university abroad. These comments seemed to make
Speaker 1: some sense given that Divina had previously worked there and
Speaker 1: was bilingual, and as a result of this line of inquiry,
Speaker 1: her description was sent out on European radio stations in
Speaker 1: the hope that someone may have information. Police stated at
Speaker 1: the time about this citing and her possible relocation to Germany,
Speaker 1: we don't know what happened to her. She told some
Speaker 1: friends she intended to find work in Germany, while others
Speaker 1: were told that she planned to study at university. We
Speaker 1: can't rule out that she's gone off with the driver
Speaker 1: of the van. No one knows about this man. While
Speaker 1: it may have made practical sense that Divina had left
Speaker 1: to get a new job or study abroad for her family,
Speaker 1: it didn't make realistic sense. They knew Divina and did
Speaker 1: not believe that she would have just left her home
Speaker 1: and particularly her four year old daughter, without telling someone
Speaker 1: where she was going. Her brother Gary told the press,
Speaker 1: it's been horrible not knowing what has happened. She certainly
Speaker 1: wouldn't have left her daughter, and she wouldn't have left
Speaker 1: my mum. The fact that Divina had a young daughter
Speaker 1: and an ill mother made it seem all the more
Speaker 1: strange that she would have just disappeared, and therefore, despite
Speaker 1: the sighting of her leaving her home. Police continued to
Speaker 1: investigate other lines of inquiry. Forensic searches were carried out
Speaker 1: at her home inhaling clothes, and investigations across the UK
Speaker 1: and Germany were conducted. Inquiries into Divina's bank accounts were
Speaker 1: also carried out in an effort to track her movements.
Speaker 1: These inquiries would reveal that her bank account remained untouched
Speaker 1: after her disappearance and that no cash had been withdrawn.
Speaker 1: This begged the question if Divina had left to create
Speaker 1: a new life, then how had she done this without
Speaker 1: any money. This appears to be a red flag in
Speaker 1: the investigation. However, it didn't help police find where Divina
Speaker 1: may be or even point to any other theory as
Speaker 1: to her disappearance. In nineteen ninety four, it was reported
Speaker 1: by police that they had at that time found nothing
Speaker 1: to suggest foul play, but since that year there has
Speaker 1: been no evidence to suggest that she is alive either.
Speaker 1: In twenty twenty, Divina's brother Gary stated that he'd been
Speaker 1: told by a call case detective that her disappearance was
Speaker 1: now being treated as a possible murder after twenty seven years.
Speaker 1: Fact that no evidence of Divina's whereabouts has been found
Speaker 1: after almost three decades was concerning, and this is of
Speaker 1: course devastating for her family. In this article from twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: Gary talked about how not knowing what happened to his
Speaker 1: sister has affected him over the years. He said, I
Speaker 1: hope more people will come forward to help the investigation.
Speaker 1: Even after all this time, it could only take one
Speaker 1: key witness to crack the case. Losing Divina still hurts
Speaker 1: as much now as it did then. I have a
Speaker 1: daughter who's a ringer for my sister, and every time
Speaker 1: I see her it makes me think of her. I'm
Speaker 1: desperate for the case to be solved. I'll never stop
Speaker 1: fighting to find out what happened. Divina's nephew Mel also
Speaker 1: echoed this sentiment, saying she was really nice. There is
Speaker 1: no way on earth she would have gone without her daughter.
Speaker 1: The family just wants to hear from anyone who has
Speaker 1: him for anything at all which could lead to the
Speaker 1: discovery of her whereabouts. It's clear that Divina's family are
Speaker 1: convinced that she would not have just left her daughter behind,
Speaker 1: and this is one of the reasons why they have
Speaker 1: been continuing to campaign since her disappearance for any information
Speaker 1: at all. Divina left behind her family and all her
Speaker 1: friends and she has not been seen since. Her family
Speaker 1: is still seeking any answers that they can. At the
Speaker 1: time of her disappearance, Divina was five foot five inches tall,
Speaker 1: of a slim build, with wavy, shoulder length brown hair.
Speaker 1: She has brown eyes and small scars on her forehead
Speaker 1: and nose. She is bilingual and has previously worked in
Speaker 1: the RAF. If you have any information about her disappearance,
Speaker 1: please contact Cambridge Constabulary on one oh one. Thank you
Speaker 1: for liss listening to today's episode. If you'd like to
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Speaker 1: You can also follow us on social media to find
Speaker 1: out any more information about each of the cases that
Speaker 1: we cover, including pictures. As always, I'm Caprice, and this
Speaker 1: has been unseen