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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 we're going to be covering two recent appeals which

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<v Speaker 1>I feel deserves some increased attention. Both are recent appeals

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<v Speaker 1>for events that happened decades ago, and I feel like

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<v Speaker 1>it's so crucial that these cases are covered because you

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<v Speaker 1>just never know who will hear this information and be

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<v Speaker 1>able to help. Many of you tagged me in the

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<v Speaker 1>news of the case of Sheila Fox, a sixteen year

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<v Speaker 1>old teenager that went missing in nineteen seventy two from Coventry.

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<v Speaker 1>Due to a social media appeal by West Midlands Police,

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<v Speaker 1>she was found fifty two years after she went missing.

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<v Speaker 1>She was alive and well and they were able to

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<v Speaker 1>close the case. This was so heartening for me many

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<v Speaker 1>other people who regularly share these appeals because it means

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<v Speaker 1>they really work. So I wanted to do the same

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<v Speaker 1>for these two cases today. One case is a missing

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<v Speaker 1>person and another is an unidentified person. This episode does

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<v Speaker 1>not contain any graphic descriptions of violence. However, listener discretion

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<v Speaker 1>is always advised. Brailey Hill is a town in Dudley

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<v Speaker 1>in the West Midlands. The area has been known for

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<v Speaker 1>its glass and steel manufacturing, and this area was very

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<v Speaker 1>highly industrialized. As such, many people moved to this area

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<v Speaker 1>in the past to find employment in these industries. These jobs, however,

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<v Speaker 1>began to decline during the nineteen seventies and today this

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<v Speaker 1>is not the main farm of employment for many people

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<v Speaker 1>in the area. In nineteen seventy two, twenty two year

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<v Speaker 1>old free de Green lived in Brayley Hill on John Street.

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<v Speaker 1>Today John Street appears to be a residential road filled

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<v Speaker 1>with terrace and semi detached houses as well as bungalows.

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<v Speaker 1>Freeda lived here with her parents and she had a

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<v Speaker 1>job at a company called Stephen and Williams. Stephen and

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<v Speaker 1>Williams is one of the oldest glass making companies in

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<v Speaker 1>the UK and his starts to have existed as a

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<v Speaker 1>company since seventeen seventy six. It was located in Brayley

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<v Speaker 1>Hill and so was the perfect place to get a

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<v Speaker 1>job during the nineteen seventies for local people. Frieda worked

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<v Speaker 1>there as a glass polisher. On April the second, nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy two, Frieda left her home in John Street as usual.

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<v Speaker 1>She did not return home that day and her parents

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<v Speaker 1>were quickly worried that something had happened to her. It

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<v Speaker 1>appears from the small bit of information that's available out

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<v Speaker 1>there that this was out of character, as her parents

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<v Speaker 1>reported her missing to police very quickly after she didn't return.

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<v Speaker 1>Freda was twenty two at this point and was an adult,

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<v Speaker 1>but still the fact that she had left without saying

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<v Speaker 1>anything to her parents was unusual and this was concerning

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<v Speaker 1>for those that knew her. There is very little that

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<v Speaker 1>has been published about Freda recently or in local newspapers

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<v Speaker 1>at the time, so it's difficult to say what has

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<v Speaker 1>been done in the investigation to try and locate her.

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<v Speaker 1>It was known that Freda liked to visit the local pub,

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<v Speaker 1>which was called the New Inn on Dudley Road in

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<v Speaker 1>Brayley Hill. This pub is now known as the Dog

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<v Speaker 1>and Lamp. It was clear that she was known to

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<v Speaker 1>people in the pub and may have been a regular

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<v Speaker 1>customer there. Freda's described as around five feet four inches

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<v Speaker 1>tall with blue eyes. She wore glasses and had distinctive

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<v Speaker 1>operation scars on the insteps of both of her feet.

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<v Speaker 1>West Midland's Police have recently done an appeal to try

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<v Speaker 1>and find Freda, as the fourteenth of February twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 1>five would mark her seventy fifth birthday and its hope

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<v Speaker 1>that this new appeal made jogs one's memory of her

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<v Speaker 1>or of the time that she went missing. They have

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<v Speaker 1>stated that since April the second, nineteen seventy two, there

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<v Speaker 1>has been no trace of Frieda at all, that it

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<v Speaker 1>appears that she just vanished without a trace. They also

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<v Speaker 1>released a photograph of her from when she was around

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen or sixteen years old, and again it was hoped

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<v Speaker 1>that someone would remember something relevant about her. As a result,

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<v Speaker 1>Freda's case has become one of the longest running in

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<v Speaker 1>West Midland's police history. As I mentioned at the beginning,

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<v Speaker 1>there is hope with Sheila Fox being found after the

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<v Speaker 1>same number of years and by the same police force,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm sure that they are hopeful that they may

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<v Speaker 1>have the same look with Freda's case. The police said

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<v Speaker 1>if you remember any piece of detail, no matter how small,

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<v Speaker 1>contact our Missing Person's Investigation Unit and zero one two

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<v Speaker 1>one six two six seven zero zero three. This is

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<v Speaker 1>so crucial and if you know anything at all then

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<v Speaker 1>please contact police. I will also link Freda's missing person

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<v Speaker 1>profile in the show notes for you to have a

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<v Speaker 1>look at. We may still be able to find out

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<v Speaker 1>what happened to Frieda and where she went. The other

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<v Speaker 1>case we're going to be covering today is an unidentified

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<v Speaker 1>person case. Walk Forest is the southern part of Kilda

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<v Speaker 1>Forest in Northumberland. Kilda Forest is the largest man made

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<v Speaker 1>forest in England and is well known for kild Or Observatory,

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<v Speaker 1>as the area is famous for its dark skies. It

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<v Speaker 1>sits along the Anglo Scottish border. At around two pm

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<v Speaker 1>on the second of February nineteen ninety, a forest worker

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<v Speaker 1>in Walk Forest was working in the area when he

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<v Speaker 1>came across an unexpected and shocking discovery, found the body

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<v Speaker 1>of a man. This discovery was quickly reported and investigators

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<v Speaker 1>came out to the scene to assess it. A post

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<v Speaker 1>Marten examination of the man found that he was between

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<v Speaker 1>twenty and forty years old and was around five feet

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<v Speaker 1>six to five feet eight inches tall. He was of

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<v Speaker 1>a medium build and was described as having a dark

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<v Speaker 1>European ethnicity. It was found that he may have died

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<v Speaker 1>between four and twelve months before his body was recovered.

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<v Speaker 1>Identification was very quickly an issue, given that this man

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<v Speaker 1>didn't have any formal idea on him, and there was

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<v Speaker 1>nothing in particular that pointed to a name or a

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<v Speaker 1>location of where he might have come from. The post

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<v Speaker 1>Marten could also not establish the man's cause of death,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was described as not suspicious. Newspaper reports at

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<v Speaker 1>the time talk about him as being a rambler, which

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<v Speaker 1>may have been inferred from the clothes that the man

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<v Speaker 1>was wearing when his body was found. He was wearing

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<v Speaker 1>high Tech brand brown walking boots, a Lee brand denim jacket,

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<v Speaker 1>along with a green vander brand and a rack. An

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<v Speaker 1>interesting piece of information was that the left boot was

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<v Speaker 1>a size eight and the right boot was an eight

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<v Speaker 1>and a half. His clothing indicated that he'd intentionally come

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<v Speaker 1>out in the forest and was prepared for it. His

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<v Speaker 1>possessions also seemed to suggest this. He had a blue

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<v Speaker 1>backpack with a green base, and inside it it had

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<v Speaker 1>two blue nylon ropes, a great arch camping equipment, and

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<v Speaker 1>a Swiss army knife. He also had a blue or

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<v Speaker 1>black holdall bag with some spare clothes, blue jeans, black

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<v Speaker 1>running shorts, white underwear, a call Master bush hat, and

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<v Speaker 1>a vixed signe X spray. In addition, he had an

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<v Speaker 1>afro comb brown money belt, two finger bandages and a

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<v Speaker 1>book called The History of London by Robert Gray. As

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<v Speaker 1>well as this, he had two half liter bottles, one

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<v Speaker 1>had water inside and one had whiskey. Locate International have

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<v Speaker 1>noted that while there was no cause of death found,

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<v Speaker 1>the man had an enlarged liver, meaning he may have

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<v Speaker 1>been alcohol dependent. Missing person reports were searched throughout the

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<v Speaker 1>UK in the hope that they might match someone with

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<v Speaker 1>that description. The police also created a facial reconstruction and

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<v Speaker 1>sent this to newspapers to distribute to the public. This

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<v Speaker 1>strategy seemed to work, as reportedly a woman got in

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<v Speaker 1>touch with the police. She was a hotel worker in

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<v Speaker 1>the area of Haltwhistle in Northumberland. She worked at the

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<v Speaker 1>Bow's Hotel and explained that the reconstruction looked a lot

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<v Speaker 1>like a guest who had checked into the hotel on

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<v Speaker 1>the fourteenth of October nineteen eighty nine, around four months

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<v Speaker 1>before the body had been found. She said he was

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<v Speaker 1>a man in his late thirties who had an American accent.

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<v Speaker 1>There was further intrigue as a book that was found

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<v Speaker 1>at the scene matched a book that had been missing

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<v Speaker 1>from the hotel. It's reported on Locate International's website that

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<v Speaker 1>there were further records of a man with that name

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<v Speaker 1>making a book in at Hexham Tourist Information Center on

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<v Speaker 1>the eighteenth of October nineteen eighty nine. After this, though

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<v Speaker 1>the paper trail for Christopher Oliver disappears. A newspaper report

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<v Speaker 1>from the ninth of February nineteen ninety in the Aberdeen

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<v Speaker 1>Presson Journal indicated that this unidentified man could in fact

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<v Speaker 1>be the same Christopher Oliver. There has, however, been no

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<v Speaker 1>confirmation that these people were the same, and it's still

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<v Speaker 1>unclear how if they are linked. There is a new

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<v Speaker 1>appeal for information in this case, with Locate International creating

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<v Speaker 1>a new living depiction of the walk Forest man. From

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<v Speaker 1>this he may be recognizable to someone. They would like

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<v Speaker 1>to know if anyone recognizes the image, the description of

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<v Speaker 1>the man or the name Christopher Oliver. This man may

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<v Speaker 1>have been American given the description from the hotel worker.

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<v Speaker 1>They have also put some important questions on the appeal.

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<v Speaker 1>They have asked anyone to come forward if they know

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<v Speaker 1>any of the answers to these questions. Do you remember

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<v Speaker 1>someone fitting this description in the Northumberland area around nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety did you stay in our near Bo's Hotel on

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<v Speaker 1>or around the fourteenth of October nineteen eighty nine. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you recognize him or did you speak with him? Do

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<v Speaker 1>you remember anybody with a North American accent traveling around

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<v Speaker 1>Northumberland at the time. Did you maybe drive a taxi

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<v Speaker 1>or know someone who did at the time and could

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<v Speaker 1>you have picked him up? Did you work at Hexham

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<v Speaker 1>Tourist Information Center or do you know someone that did.

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<v Speaker 1>Does he remind you of someone you once knew and

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<v Speaker 1>have now lost touch with. Does the name Christopher Oliver

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<v Speaker 1>mean anything to you? This case is certainly intriguing, but

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<v Speaker 1>I always think someone must know this man. There must

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<v Speaker 1>be family members out there who remember someone going missing

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<v Speaker 1>around nineteen eighty nine. As Locate International state, this man

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<v Speaker 1>would be between the ages of fifty five to seventy

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<v Speaker 1>five years old if alive today, and so identifying people

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<v Speaker 1>who knew him or remember that time is becoming more

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<v Speaker 1>difficult as time passes, but there will be someone with

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<v Speaker 1>information out there. I will link this man's case on

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<v Speaker 1>Locate International's website along with the image. Thank you for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to today's episode. If you'd like to support the

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<v Speaker 1>podcast further than you can on Patreon and contribute to

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<v Speaker 1>You can use the link in the show notes to

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<v Speaker 1>visit Patreon and see what we offer. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>support us by reviewing the podcast wherever you listen, including Spotify,

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>Caprice and this has been unseen