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<v Speaker 1>Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast

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<v Speaker 1>dedicated to missing people, unresolved cases, and UK true crime.

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<v Speaker 1>Today is day three of twelve days of missing person

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<v Speaker 1>episodes throughout December. Today we're going to be exploring the

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<v Speaker 1>disappearance of sixty four year old Patricia Finney in twenty seventeen.

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<v Speaker 1>Her disappearance was both suspicious and out of character, and

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<v Speaker 1>her family and friends have been hoping for answers ever since.

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<v Speaker 1>This episode is about a missing person and so does

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<v Speaker 1>not contain any descriptions of violence, but listener discretion is advised.

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<v Speaker 1>South End on Sea is a seaside city located in

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<v Speaker 1>the County of Essex in southeast England. It's long been

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<v Speaker 1>known for its status as holiday destination, going back as

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<v Speaker 1>far as Victorian times, when people used to travel for

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<v Speaker 1>its seaside views and to see the world's longest pleasure peer.

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<v Speaker 1>Since that time, however, South End on Sea has changed

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<v Speaker 1>and grown, with many of the older buildings being redeveloped,

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<v Speaker 1>and it gained its city status in twenty twenty two.

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<v Speaker 1>In twenty seventeen, Patricia Finney was both a mother and

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<v Speaker 1>a grandmother living in South End on Sea. By all accounts.

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<v Speaker 1>Patricia was a beloved member of her family who enjoyed

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<v Speaker 1>spending time with both them and her friends. On the

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<v Speaker 1>eleventh of May twenty seventeen, Patricia had been out in

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<v Speaker 1>the morning to see a friend who lived on Riviera

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<v Speaker 1>Drive in the city. Riviera Drive is a mostly residential

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<v Speaker 1>street made up of semi detached houses along one side.

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<v Speaker 1>South End East train station is located on Riviera Drive,

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<v Speaker 1>facing several of these houses. After visiting her friend, it

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<v Speaker 1>was then known that Patricia had been sighted in the

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<v Speaker 1>Bellevue area of the city. This is not far at

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<v Speaker 1>all from Riviera Drive where she'd been visiting her friend.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, the area is only around a seven minute walk.

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<v Speaker 1>If that this was the last time that Patricia has

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<v Speaker 1>officially been sighted after this point in May twenty seventeen,

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<v Speaker 1>Patricia has not been located and she has not contacted

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<v Speaker 1>her family. Her disappearance was very quickly noticed by her

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<v Speaker 1>family and friends, and the police were involved with the

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<v Speaker 1>missing person investigation from early on. It was not Patricia's

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<v Speaker 1>normal behavior to just leave without contacting anyone, and it

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't usual for her. Therefore, police did start an investigation

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<v Speaker 1>straight away. It was hope that as it was known

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<v Speaker 1>where Patricia had been at around that time, that they

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<v Speaker 1>would be able to trace her movements or at least

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<v Speaker 1>find someone who might have seen her. Police began putting

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<v Speaker 1>out media appeals to try and locate Patricia, as well

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<v Speaker 1>as carrying out house to house inquiries in the area

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<v Speaker 1>where she was known to have visited that morning. As

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<v Speaker 1>well as this, they trawled through hours and hours of

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<v Speaker 1>CCTV footage in these areas to try and find her

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<v Speaker 1>image amongst the many people who had been there that day.

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<v Speaker 1>They also knew that Patricia could have got around using

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<v Speaker 1>public transport. There was the train station along the route

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<v Speaker 1>that she may have taken, as well as many different

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<v Speaker 1>bus routes in the city. It reported that police works

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<v Speaker 1>with bus and rail companies to try and locate Patricia

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<v Speaker 1>or any sign that she had used public transport that day.

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<v Speaker 1>It seemed that all of these lines of inquiry did

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<v Speaker 1>not track Patricia down, or if they did, narrow down

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<v Speaker 1>any route she'd taken. These have not been published in

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<v Speaker 1>the media. A description of Patricia was created. She was

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<v Speaker 1>described as white, five feet six inches tall, of a

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<v Speaker 1>medium build, with straight auburn or gray hair. Her disappearance

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<v Speaker 1>was very strange from the outset, given that there appeared

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<v Speaker 1>to be no reason why Patricia would have just vanished,

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<v Speaker 1>and as the days and weeks passed, it became even

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<v Speaker 1>more suspicious to those that knew her. Where could she

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<v Speaker 1>have gone and why was she missing? As the time

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<v Speaker 1>ticked by, it became all the more worrying for those

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<v Speaker 1>that knew her, and police became increasingly eager to track

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<v Speaker 1>her down. Despite extensive searches for her and appeals to

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<v Speaker 1>the public for information, there was little found out about

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<v Speaker 1>her whereabouts or her movements. Since the eleventh of May

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<v Speaker 1>twenty seventeen, she had not been in contact with anyone

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<v Speaker 1>or turned up in any other location. Two years passed

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<v Speaker 1>before there were any more developments in Patricia's missing person case.

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<v Speaker 1>In twenty nineteen, it was reported that a sighting of

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<v Speaker 1>her had come in. The witness stated that they had

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<v Speaker 1>seen Patricia near the drawbridge in Lower Staft in Suffolk.

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<v Speaker 1>Suffolk is a neighboring county of Essex, and the sighting

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<v Speaker 1>had taken place at around one pm on Sunday, February third,

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<v Speaker 1>twenty nineteen. Why Patricia would have been in Lower Staft

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<v Speaker 1>is unclear and if it was her, what had she

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<v Speaker 1>been doing for the time since she had been missing.

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<v Speaker 1>There has been no update on this sighting. As Patricia

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<v Speaker 1>is still missing, this sighting must not have been corroborated.

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<v Speaker 1>It did, however, push Patricia's case back into the headlines,

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<v Speaker 1>which is always helpful. In twenty twenty three, a very

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<v Speaker 1>large update was issued in Patricia's case. It was reported

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<v Speaker 1>that a man had been arrested on suspicion of her murder.

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<v Speaker 1>This man was in his seventies at the time of

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<v Speaker 1>the arrest, with police explaining that inquiries were still ongoing.

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<v Speaker 1>This man was later released on bail and it does

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<v Speaker 1>not appear as of December twenty twenty four that any

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<v Speaker 1>charges have been brought against this suspect. It was reported

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<v Speaker 1>that the time of the arrest, police began searching two

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<v Speaker 1>specific areas in relation to Patricia's disappearance. The area of

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<v Speaker 1>Hockley Woods, around seven miles from Southend on Sea, was

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<v Speaker 1>searched thoroughly by police. This search lasted several days. Detective

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<v Speaker 1>Superintendent Rob Kirby said this was painstaking work and we

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<v Speaker 1>recovered a number of items and work remains ongoing to

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<v Speaker 1>ascertain if they are linked to Patricia's disappearance. Our investigation

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<v Speaker 1>into what happened to Patricia is continuing and I still

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<v Speaker 1>need anyone who has information to contact us. A house

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<v Speaker 1>in the area of Shubury was also searched by police

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<v Speaker 1>in relation to the investigation. A house in Lynnark Close

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<v Speaker 1>was attended by a forensic team. There was clearly reason

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<v Speaker 1>to believe that this house had a connection to Patricia's disappearance. However,

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<v Speaker 1>what this was has not been released. Essex Police have

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<v Speaker 1>since been clear about what they believe has happened to Patricia.

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<v Speaker 1>Detective Superintendent Rob Kirby, head of Major Crime, said Patricia

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<v Speaker 1>is a mother and a grandmother and her disappearances had

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<v Speaker 1>a really big impact on her family. They understandably have

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<v Speaker 1>questions about what's happened to her and we're committed to

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<v Speaker 1>doing everything we can to provide them with answers. There

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<v Speaker 1>is a team of dedicated detectives and staff working hard

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<v Speaker 1>to establish what happened to Patricia and bring those responsible

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<v Speaker 1>to justice. Patricia disappeared on the eleventh of May twenty

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<v Speaker 1>seventeen and has been seen or heard from since. Her

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<v Speaker 1>disappearance has been reviewed by specialist detectives. As a result

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<v Speaker 1>of that review, they have concluded that Patricia is no

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<v Speaker 1>longer alive and her death is being treated as a homicide.

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<v Speaker 1>It's evident that this conclusion is due to the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that Patricia has not been seen and has not contacted

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<v Speaker 1>anyone since she disappeared, and clearly a result of their

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<v Speaker 1>own investigation that they believe that something happened to Patricia

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<v Speaker 1>on the eleventh of May when she left her friend's

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<v Speaker 1>home on rivere A Drive. What that is and how

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<v Speaker 1>the suspect who was arrested was connected to this is

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<v Speaker 1>currently unknown. From the reports that I have read, Essex

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<v Speaker 1>Police seem to be dedicated to trying to get answers

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<v Speaker 1>for Patricia's family and have continued to look into all

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<v Speaker 1>lines of inquiry as well as follow up on any

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<v Speaker 1>leads that come in. They have continually appealed for information

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<v Speaker 1>and want anyone to come forward who feel that they

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<v Speaker 1>may know something about Trisha Finney's disappearance. If you do

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<v Speaker 1>know anything at all, then please use that online portal

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<v Speaker 1>which was set up using the link in the show notes,

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<v Speaker 1>or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on five five five one one

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<v Speaker 1>one Patricia's family and friends deserve to know where she is,

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<v Speaker 1>and any tiny bit of information may help. Thank you

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to today's episode. Listening in a few days

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<v Speaker 1>today four, where we'll cover another missing or unidentified person case.

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<v Speaker 1>just share the episodes. You can subscribe on YouTube and

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<v Speaker 1>follow us on social media. As always, I'm Priest and

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<v Speaker 1>this has been unseen