Disappearance of Louise Kerton
Mysterious disappearance of a British woman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Louise Kerton is a British woman from Broadstairs, Kent, United Kingdom, who went missing in Germany in July 2001. At the time of her disappearance she was a student nurse.
Aachen Hauptbahnhof, Aachen, Germany
- Phil Kerton (father)
- Kathleen Kerton (mother)
Background
Louise Kerton, the daughter of Phil and Kathleen Kerton, had four siblings: a younger sister, two older sisters and an older brother.[1][2] She was born prematurely at 27 weeks and spent 8 to 10 weeks in an incubator.[2] She had an artistic side and teachers were puzzled that she was attentive but had difficulty presenting work, describing it as a mess.[2] She was diagnosed with dyslexia.[2] She had attended the same school as murder victim Lucie Blackman and was friendly with her.[2]
She was living with her boyfriend Peter Simon in Broadstairs at the time of her disappearance.[2]
Disappearance
She spent five weeks with Peter's family in Straßfeld near Bonn after failing nursing exams.[2] Peter had travelled to the UK two days before she was to pick up some building materials.[2] Peter's mother Ramona said she had dropped her off at Aachen Hauptbahnhof on 30 July 2001.[2] Louise had planned to take a train to Ostend and then travel to Dover.[2]
Investigation
German police treated her disappearance as routine - they received unconfirmed reports that she was living in a hostel for the homeless in Aachen.[3]
Her father believes that authorities were slow to act as she was 24 and therefore considered an adult.[2] He said her disappearance was out of character.[2]
In late 2001 her family hired Bob Moffatt, a former Scotland Yard Superintendent as a private investigator.[2] They have also hired Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection.[2] Moffatt and her family have criticised the Simon family for failing to cooperate with police and for alleged inconsistencies in their statements.[2] The Simon family deny her disappearance has anything to do with them.[2]
Police found photos on film in her camera at Peter's home in Germany.[3] When developed they showed scenes that police believe had been photographed in a village in the region of Bad Zwischenahn.[3]
As of late 2010 or early 2011 German police had closed the case.[4]
Her mother died of stomach cancer in 2011.[2]
The Simon family have moved out of Straßfeld.[2]