| Leah Croucher | |
| Birth Date: | 14 August 1999[1] |
| Disappeared Place: | Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Disappeared Status: | Deceased |
| Body Discovered: | Furzton, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England |
On 15 February 2019, British teenager Leah Croucher disappeared on her morning walk to work from Emerson Valley to Knowlhill in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. In October 2022, human remains were found in a property in Furzton; they were later confirmed to be those of Croucher.
The prime suspect in Croucher's death, a convicted sex offender, hanged himself two months after the disappearance.[2]
At approximately 08:00 GMT on 15 February 2019, 19-year-old Leah Croucher left her home on Quantock Crescent in the Emerson Valley area of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire to begin her 2miles walk to her work at a direct debit collection agency in Knowlhill.[3] [4] She did not arrive for her 09:00 shift and was reported missing by her parents later that evening, after not returning home from work.
Croucher was last seen on CCTV at 08:16 on Buzzacott Lane in Furzton, walking in the direction of her work. Someone matching her description was seen nearby at about 08:20. Croucher's phone left the mobile network at about 08:34 and did not rejoin a network.[5]
Three separate witnesses reported seeing someone matching her description, between 09:30 and 11:15, walking near Furzton Lake. The witnesses said that she looked visibly upset and crying while talking on the phone. Police have not confirmed if these sightings were that of Croucher.[6]
Thames Valley Police (TVP) described Croucher as white, tall, of slim build, with below-shoulder-length brown hair and sometimes wearing glasses. She was last seen dressed in a black coat, skinny black jeans and black Converse high top shoes and was carrying a small black rucksack.[7] [8]
In a public appeal for information to help find the missing girl, TVP released CCTV footage of Croucher. On 18 February, the police began searching Furzton Lake for evidence and continued the search for a number of days.[9] They also searched Blue Lagoon Local Nature Reserve in Water Eaton, after a report of clothing matching Croucher's.[10]
TVP said that its officers visited more than 4,000 homes and that it deployed specialist search teams, drones and helicopters. They also used marine units and dive teams during searches of lakes across Milton Keynes.[11] Nothing was recovered during any search.[12]
On the anniversary of her disappearance, an initial reward was doubled to £10,000. Appeals for information were made in Yorkshire and Lancashire.[13] [14]
On 12 October 2022, TVP said they had found Croucher's rucksack and personal possessions at a property on Loxbeare Drive in Furzton, less than 1miles from her home, and that they had found human remains at the same property. They announced that they were conducting a murder inquiry, although formal identification of the remains had yet to be completed.[15] On 14 October, a police spokesperson named a convicted sex offender, Neil Maxwell, as their prime suspect as he was the only person with access to the Loxbeare Drive house at the time.[16] In April 2019, two months after Croucher's disappearance, Maxwell had hanged himself at a block of flats near Campbell Park.[17]
On 21 October, the remains found at Loxbeare Drive were formally confirmed to be those of Croucher.[18]