Day 8- Cathryn Holdsworth

in twenty seventeen. Her disappearance is very unusual and Catherine is a vulnerable person, meaning that many people have been invested in finding out where she went or what happened. This episode is about a missing person and so does not contain any descriptions of violence, but listener discretion is advised. On the ninth of September twenty seventeen, seventy two year old Catherine Holdsworth entered a Tesco supermarket in the town

of Halifax. Halifax is located in the borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, at the foothills of the Pennine Mountains. It's a town which has historically been associated with the wool trade and is known for its older style buildings and historic monuments. Today, Halifax is a popular town for shopping and events at their Peace Hall. Catherine lived alone in an area of Illingworth around three miles from the town centre, and often caught the bus into the centre

to do her shopping. CCTV from the Tesco supermarket showed that Catherine entered the shop wearing her coat, some pink earmuffs, as well as her walking frame that she used for assistance. Whenever she left home, Catherine usually went on the bus to do her shopping, and therefore there was nothing out of the ordinary about this activity. Despite living alone, Catherine's neighbors often kept an eye on her and would speak to her regularly when they saw her leaving or coming home.

Her neighbor Martina, has recently spoke to the Missing podcast about Catherine's case, saying that by twenty seventeen they had been neighbours and had known each other for many years. Martina explained that Catherine was not the easiest to get to know initially, but when you did, she was a very kind and intelligent woman who wanted to talk out for her neighbors. Catherine was living in the home that had been her parents and had, as far as Martina knew,

lived in Halifax her whole life. She had previously been married to her husband, Bill, whom she adored, but he had passed away several years before. As a result of living alone, Catherine got close with her neighbours and Martina, who said that she enjoyed keeping an eye on her. She had keys to her home, and Catherine asked Martina to go in and check on things if she wasn't

going to be there. The fact that Martina had keys gave her peace of mind in case something went wrong or she fell ill, and she knew that there would be someone there to help her. This community's spirit was one of the reasons Catherine and many of her neighbors enjoyed living in Illingworth. In the days following the ninth of September, her neighbors began to get worried when they hadn't seen or spoken to Katherine. A delivery driver attempted

to deliver a parcel to Catherine's home during this time. However, no one answered, so the driver delivered it to the neighbors instead. This further concerned them as nobody was able to get in contact with Catherine, and after ten days of being unable to get in touch with her, her her neighbors were concerned enough that they contacted police and the nineteenth of September. Catherine's neighbors would later say that they kept an eye on her due to the fact

that she was vulnerable. They stated that she had had falls in her home previously, and that she sometimes wore an alarm around her neck, which would alert anyone if she needed help. This is part of the reason why her neighbors and then subsequently the police, were concerned about her welfare when no one could contact her. Martina explained on the Missing podcast that she became worried when she hadn't seen her sat in her armchair in the window,

which was her usual spot. Her husband phoned the police and they initially asked if Martina would go in, as she had keys for the property. Martina was hesitant as she didn't want to invade Catherine's privacy like that, and she was also worried about what she was going to find in the home. Martina explained that when she went into the house, it was clear that Catherine had not been there for a few days, given that there was a buildup of posts behind the door. There was also

something odd found in the house. Her working frame was found there, along with the coat and ear muffs that she had last been seen wearing on CCTV in the Tesco supermarket ten days earlier. Neighbors confirmed that she didn't go out without her walking frame, as she found it hard to get around without it. Despite finding these objects, there was no sign of Catherine and it appeared that she hadn't been there for a while. Martina reported this to police, who attended the scene and took charge of

the property. The discovery of important belongings such as her working frame and her medication did confirm one thing, though she had arrived home on the ninth of September after she had been out to the supermarket. This helped them form more of a timeline for her day. Police began an extensive investigation into Catherine's whereabouts, with a large scale search of her property and the area around it in the hope that they would find out more about where

she went. They were able to establish that Catherine caught the bus in the direction of her home that day, as the log showed that her bus pass had been used. There was no CCTV on the bus, so they didn't know which stop she had got off at, but they believed that due to her belongings being in the house, she must have made it home that day. What happened after this, though, Where did she go and why had

she left home without her walking frame. Police looked into Catherine's life to try and establish what her usual pattern of behavior was like and how she normally lived her day to day life. Martina explained that Catherine was a sharp woman who was organized and knew what was going on. She didn't often misappointments, and she was clued up. She would inform Martina if she was going to be out for the whole day or if she was going on holiday. She didn't think it was likely that she would have

got lost, got confused, or simply wandered off. Catherine had reportedly not been acting strange or unusual in the time before she disappeared, and there was nothing to suggest anything was wrong. There was a period of around ten days that police were investigating where Catherine had not been seen, and they made an appeal asking for information from the public. Catherine's description was issued, describing her as five feet two inches tall, with a medium build and very sharp, speckled

gray hair. They also explained that Catherine had links to Brick House, where she owned a property, as well as Blackpool and Cornwall. Her connection to Blackpool had reportedly been a source of confusion in the police investigation, as they had initially believed Catherine had been missing on a previous occasion as several years before she couldn't be located. It had turned out, however, that she had simply been on a holiday and this was not a pattern of behavior

of going missing. Despite an investigation which was extensive and searched in many of the areas where Catherine may have been or visited, no sign or evidence of her was found. It was as though she had just vanished into thin air. Those that knew Catherine and cared about her continued to appeal for information and look for any evidence of her. They knew that she would not have just left without her belongings and that she was most probably not capable

of doing that. In the years that passed, further appeals were made for information about Catherine, and in twenty twenty three, Labour MP for Halifax, Holly Lynch, took her missing person case to Westminster to raise awareness for the disappearance of one of her constituents. Holly Lynch later explained to the Telegraph and argus, I'm concerned and saddened that we still don't know what has happened to Catherine as a vulnerable

older woman, more than six years after her disappearance. Last year I arranged a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament as a direct appeal to the general public to think back to twenty seventeen. It was hoped that by highlighting Catherine's disappearance in the community and to a wider audience nationally, this would help to jog someone's memory of that time where Catherine went missing and someone would remember seeing the

seventy two year old. It has now been over seven years since Catherine went missing, without any sign of her and no evidence as to where she went. A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said the investigation into the whereabouts of Catherine Holdsworth, who was reported missing on September nineteenth, twenty seventeen,

remains ongoing and is subject to regular reviews. Police have urged anyone to come forward who might have information regarding sightings of Catherine, or anyone with information on her current whereabouts is asked to contact police via w W dot West Yorkshire dot Police dot UK, forward slash one zero one, live chat or by calling one oh one. I will

link these in the show notes. Catherine's disappearance is so strange for someone of her age to simply disappear, and it's clearly a concern now so much time has elapsed. Polly Lynch has stated that this highlights the issue of elderly and vulnerable people in the community and their isolation. Catherine had people around her cared about her and looked after her, but on this occasion they didn't see or

know where she went or what happened. Her behavior had not been out of the ordinary and there were no signs that there was anything wrong. So what made her leave home without her walking frame or her medication that she needed day to day. This case is baffling and there's very little evidence to point to any conclusion. It seems to be a tragic story of someone simply vanishing without trace. The more people who share the story, the

more we may find out. I will link the Missing podcast episode in the show notes if you want to hear from Martina and Holly Lynch about the case directly. Thank you for listening to today's episode. Listening in a few days to day nine, where we will cover another missing or unidentified person case. If you'd like to support the podcast further, then you can on Patreon and contribute to exclusive polls to get extra bonus episodes every months. You can also get access to new episodes early in

ad free. You can use the link in the show notes to visit Patreon and see what we offer. You can also support us by reviewing the podcast wherever you listen, including Spotify, and also just share the episodes. You can subscribe on YouTube and follow us on social media. As always, I'm Caprice and this has been unseen speak