'I need to know what happened to my sister' - mystery of teenager who vanished
A woman has issued a heartfelt appeal twenty years after her sister mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind her 11-week-old baby and sparking a massive police search.
It should have been the happiest time of Natalie Putt’s life, she had just turned 17 and given birth to her baby son, whom she was utterly devoted to.
But then out of nowhere, the teenager vanished from her Dudley home, sparking a massive search effort and leaving her distraught family desperate for answers.
That was almost 20 years ago - and she was never seen again.
Officers searched open land near the teenager’s home, conducted underwater searches of rivers and lakes and farmland where she kept horses, and even exhumed graves at a cemetery but no clue has been found to help uncover what happened to Natalie, Birmingham Live reports.
Nicola Bulley's children 'cried their eyes out' after being told 'mummy's lost'
Natalie Putt was 17 when she left her home in Thornleigh, Lower Gornal in September 2003 (SWNS.com)The huge police investigation was ultimately unable to answer that question of exactly what happened to Natalie on that day in September 2003. Sister Rebecca says it's left a gaping hole in her family.
An inquest in 2019 concluded the young mum was dead but with no body having ever been found, it naturally left many lingering questions for her loved ones. Reported sightings were made across the country.
One story went that Natalie went to the shops to get cigarettes and then vanished but that has been disputed by her family. And detectives ultimately concluded the truth lay closer to home.
Coroner Zafar Siddique said it was his belief that the mum, who lived in the quiet Thornleigh, Lower Gornal, died in the vicinity of where she lived. Her former partner Kevin McCallum denied being involved in her disappearance under questioning from the coroner, and told how she left the house to go to the shops on the day she went missing and he later noticed her phone had been left behind.
Vast areas of Cotwall End nature reserve, a stone's throw away from her home, were scoured. The case was given fresh impetus in 2017 when a nearby graveyard, woodland and lake were searched by forensic teams, ultimately proving to be another dead end.
Police underwater search specialists looking for clues to Natalie's disappearance in nearby Ellowes Hall Wood 14 years after she vanished without a trace (Tristan Potter / SWNS.com)A neighbour reported seeing Natalie with her baby on the day she went missing and remarked how she "seemed fine" and was "just absolutely normal". Her older sister Rebecca Coggins has always maintained Natalie would never have willingly left her baby son behind.
She believes her sister was 'killed' and has accepted she will never see her again. She now longs for Natalie's remains to be found so she can be laid to rest 'like a human being - and for justice'.
If the missing mum is dead, as a coroner and detectives have concluded, it means someone out there knows what happened to her. Speaking to reporters in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of Natalie's disappearance, Rebecca said: "I'm just really sad. I've had 19 birthdays without her now. She had only just turned 17. Twenty years is a long time, isn't it?
"What I hope is; people have become older, they may have their own families. I'm hoping with that maturity, they then have Natalie in their minds and think 'I need to make sure Natalie's family know the full facts'.
"I think about the fact she has no place to be buried. I think that's the toughest bit, not knowing where she is."
Mum appeared 'completely normal' moments before vanishing while walking dog
A photo of Natalie Putt issued at the time of her disappearance shows her with her baby son (PA)Rebecca last saw her sister when they went to Pizza Hut about three weeks before she went missing. She remembers her fawning over her baby son.
She says she did not quite seem herself but with the challenges of motherhood at such a young age and the normal pressures of being a teenager, that was perhaps not unexpected. Recalling that day, Rebecca said: "She was absolutely blown away by her little baby, he was just handed around and he was loved by everybody.
"I was so proud of her, watching her with him, it was such a privilege to see and be a part of. There are nine years between us so there have been a few disagreements along the way. I was nine years older, I had nine years more experience of the world.
"She could be a bit feisty at times. You have to remember Natalie was only just 17." The sudden disappearance and years that followed without finding answers took its toll on Rebecca, who told how she doesn't let her daughters out after dark because of what happened to her sister.
But she insists she "100%" has hope that advancements in technology could help crack this unsolved case in the years to come and that Natalie, finally, could be laid to rest. "This isn't a closed case. This is still an ongoing inquiry. It just needs a phone call or someone to help. There is a missing part of the jigsaw."
Detectives exhuming several graves in a Gornal cemetery in the search for clues as to Natalie's whereabouts (SWNS.com)She continued: "I'd love to be able to just know. I think there is someone who knows exactly what happened and they have obviously got no conscience but modern technology is improving every single day. There are always cases, there was one recently where a family were reunited with a loved one."
She adds: "That gets to me a little bit because I know we're never gonna have that. There was a finality, a death certificate has been issued for Natalie. That was hard-hitting, that was really hard. It's there in black and white.
"I'm troubled every single day by it. I could respect it if she had said 'I made a new life'. You go ahead with all these little fantasies, it could be that she's got a new life or a new family... but this isn't like the telly. The torment of knowing Natalie is no longer alive... it torments me."
She says it's "too painful" to think about the fact her potential killer still walks the streets. "It's heartbreaking. The fact I've not got justice for Natalie but more importantly, Natalie is out there somewhere. I've got nothing."
Natalie's bank account was left untouched after she disappeared, giving more credence to the theory she was killed. Rebecca reflects: "In my heart, I always knew (she had died). I knew she wouldn't have left her son.
Natalie's sister is asking for anyone with information to come forward so her family can finally understand what happened to her that day almost 20 years ago (Birmingham Mail)"One of the things that was mentioned at the inquest was she had access to money that day and never cashed any of that money in. She was going supposedly to the garage to get some cigarettes or something."
She adds: "I knew there was no chance in this world that had happened, not a snowball's chance in hell that my sister, who had a baby, had got up and just walked out without him." Asked if she had a message for someone who might have the answers she craves, Rebecca replied: "Speak up. Don't be part of this any longer. Give her the right to have a decent burial or cremation, give her that decency that a human being deserves.
"She doesn't deserve to be deserted somewhere or laying wherever she is. She was a human being. She was a mother, she was my sister, she was a daughter.
"Even if it's the most minute thing they think is insignificant, it's not, it builds a picture and the police will listen. Or totally anonymous, ring Crimestoppers and they won't ask whoever it is any details about themselves.
"They will not be dragged into this, they will just give Natalie that decency, as a human being, as a member of my heart and a member of a family that are bereft."
West Midlands Police did not respond to a request for an update on the case but said in 2019 the investigation was still live and urged anyone with information to contact them on 101.
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