Stephanie Whittaker

case is still unsolved thirty four years later. This episode is about a missing person and so does not contain any descriptions of violence, but listener discretion is advised. Newport is a city located in Wales, just twelve miles from the capital of Cardiff. It grew quickly during the nineteenth century, when its largest industry was coal mining from the South Wales Valley area. The Whittaker family lived in Newport on land Huey Road. The street is made up of many

semi detached and terrace homes, perfect for families. The Whittaker family comprised of Tony, his thirty four year old wife, Stephanie, and their three children. Who in nineteen ninety were twelve nine and eighteen months old. Tony worked as a manager for a family care housing association, while Stephanie at that moment was a stay at home mum with her youngest child. Her job was something that Stephanie had given up after

the birth of her third child. However, before this, Stephanie worked as a home advisor for Gwent Health Authority for families with chillnldren with learning difficulties. She had studied psychology at Bristol University and had studied further courses on counseling and communication at a local college in Newport. Stephanie was known to be loving, caring, and concerned about the welfare

of those around her. It's clear that Stephanie was loved by her family and friends, and that she did a lot for people that she cared about, as well as strangers that she didn't know. A friend of Stephanie's from college later described her saying, she loved her kids so much. I used to joke about it and even called her earth Mother. She gave up her job for her youngish child because she didn't want to miss any part of

his growing up. Neighbors of The Whittakers also discussed how much they saw Stephanie put into her children's lives, saying she dotes on her little boy and spends lots of time in the garden with him. These are just two of many descriptions of Stephanie from people that knew her, and it's so clear that she lived for her children and her family and that they were a tight knit family unit. On March of twenty second, the family spent

the evening celebrating their son's twelfth birthday. They had been to a pizza restaurant, and it reported that Stephanie had discussed how excited she was about an upcoming holiday that the family were going on to West Wales. The next evening, on the twenty third of March, Stephanie had plans to meet some friends at a local spiritualist meeting at Saint

John's Ambulance Hall at Caxton Place. This was a usual Friday even and the friends regularly met up there and then sometimes went for drinks at a local pub or went for coffee at one of the friend's homes. Stephanie would walk to Caxton Place as it was less than half a mile and would take just under ten minutes to get there that evening. Stephanie was meant to be meeting her friends at around eight thirty pm, but she was running a little bit late. Tony would later describe

it as the usual rush of domestic life. She rang one of her friends before she set out to explain that she was running late, but that she would be on her way. The friend had already set out, and so Stephanie got through to her husband instead. She then headed out of the home at around eight twenty five pm, telling Tony that she was on her way out now and would see him later. Toni was looking after the children that night, and so he went to bed at

about midnight. Stephanie had still not returned, but Tony later stated that he wasn't worried immediately, as he knew that sometimes they would go for drinks or go to other friends' homes afterwards, so he wasn't alarmed. He later told the press it was not unusual for her to go to a friend's house for coffee, so I wasn't unduly worried. This changed, however, when Tony woke up three hours later at three am and discovered that Stephanie had still not returned.

He said that it was at this point that he did begin to worry about her. It wasn't like Stephanie to be out late, and it wasn't part of her usual routine after her Friday meetings. He explained that he was pacing up and down the house worried about Stephanie's welfare until around five am, when he decided to ring one of her friends who had been at the meeting

with her that night. Concern immediately grew when this friend told Tony that Stephanie had not made it to the meeting point that night at all, and that she hadn't been out with her friends. This was a sickening realization as what had happened to Stephanie on that short walk from her home to the meeting point. It was at this moment that Tony contacted police to inform them that his wife was missed in The missing person report was

immediately taken seriously by Gwent Police. It was clear that something was wrong with the picture that they were seeing. Stephanie was a responsible, reliable mother and wife who regularly made this journey to meet her friends on a Friday night. There was nothing that suggested anything out of the ordinary. On that evening. There was also nothing that caused the police to worry about her mental health, as she had never struggled with this in her life. As far as

everyone was aware, everybody told police the same thing. Stephanie would not have left voluntarily and would never have left her children behind. She would never leave her family without contacting someone. She was in a good place in her life, with her mum explaining that she told her that she had never been so happy. It was evident to police that they had to rule out a number of theories, and this done quite early in this case. They did not believe that Stephanie had left of her own card

to for instance, live another life. She had not taken any of her belongings with her, and Tony explained that she only had a couple of pounds with her and had not taken any cards, credit books, or checkbooks. This would mean that whatever she had on her was all she would have had. She hadn't even taken a handbag and certainly hadn't taken any spare clothes. Tony stated that he didn't believe that Stephanie had any worries or concerns that would have made her do this, and She was

very open about her feelings in their marriage. He told a newspaper at the time. She was the sort of person who externalized her feelings, and if she was in distress, she would have told someone. Even if she got involved with another emotional relationship with someone, she would have told me. She was fiercely honest. But I don't believe that anyone one else was involved. She was always at home. She always put her children first, even before her own needs.

This theory therefore, seemed unlikely. This left police with the theory that Stephanie had been abducted on her journey from home to Caxton Place. This is where issues with the investigation began. Police canvassed any witnesses to the sharp journey that she would have taken. They could find no witnesses to anything suspicious on that route at the time that Stephanie had set off that day. The route was a straightforward one. She headed down the hill towards the civic center,

did a right turn, and then went into town. The route was reportedly well lit and usually quite busy. Therefore, it would seem likely that someone would have seen Stephanie that night. However, no one saw anything that stood out if Stephanie had been abducted, wouldn't someone have seen it? Police issued posters with Stephanie's picture on, as well as a description of her and what she had last been seen wearing at that time. Stephanie was five feet tall,

of a medium build with a fair complexion. She had blue eyes and shoulder length hair. She was last seen wearing a pin striped shirt, a dark skirt, black boots, and a three quarter length maxed barber jacket. On the thirtieth of March, a week after her disappearance, police reconstructed her movements on the night that she went missing. It was hoped that this would jog people's memories of seeing her.

Police were appealing very regularly for information about Stephanie. However, despite this, there had only been around thirty phone calls logged about her disappearance. Detectives were also quite honest about the leads that they had, saying it was as though Stephanie had just vanish off the face of the earth. Tony was also very dedicated to appealing for information and speaking to the press to keep her case in the

public eye. He explained to the press at the time, I have to believe that she's still alive, Otherwise it all gets too frightening. In the weeks after Stephanie's disappearance, there was little evidence as to what happened to her. There was no evidence as to her whereabouts, but there was also no evidence that she had been abducted or been the victim of foul play. The longer that she

remained missing, though, the more suspicious this disappearance became. Detective Inspector Alan Watkins, leading the inquiry, said, she has just vanished. She is a devoted mother who was not suffering from depression or anything. Were very concern for her safety. We don't know if she's being held somewhere against her will, but if she can possibly contact us, I will speak

to her in confidence. It was hoped that by publishing information about her disappearance, someone would remember something or remember seeing her somewhere in the local area or further afield. It would turn out that some sightings did come in. There was a sighting of someone who resembled Stephanie in Hereford, as well as a sighting by someone living in Newport

who said that they knew her. This woman stated that she had seen Stephanie on the evening of the twenty third of March in Newport, on the day that she went missing, but a little later than she would have been walking to the meeting point. This woman said that she looked distressed. This was an interesting tip. However, like many of the aspects of Stephanie's disappearance, it could not

be confirmed. Another sighting that came in was from six months after her disappearance and was from a taxi driver. This driver said that he had seen a missing poster of Stephanie and that she resembled a woman that he picked up a month before. This woman had a Welsh accent, and the taxi driver had picked her up from the Manhattan nightclub in King's Lynn in Norfolk. He had taken her to hunt Stanton in Norfolk, around thirty miles away.

This again was an interesting line of inquiry. However, again it could not be confirmed, and the question of how and why Stephanie would be more than two hundred miles away also could not be answered. As the Monson years passed, the police continued to appeal to the public for help, and Tony continued to speak to the press about his wife. He stated that he just wanted to know what had happened to her and where she was, and that he

and his children needed answers to these questions. Her family, who loved her was so invested in trying to find out, and they had all been left behind with no plausible reason for why Stephanie was not in their lives anymore. This must have been heartbreaking for them, and not knowing must have been unbearable. In nineteen ninety four, Stephanie's case was featured on Crime Watch. It was a very short segment, however, the national attention was very much needed for the case.

Detective Inspector Watkins said not long into the investigation, we just don't know what happened to her. There is no evidence to show that she has been abducted, and she has no reason to run away. This is the tragic nature of long term missing person cases, as unless new evidence comes to lie, often there isn't much newer information

to report on. Stephanie's case is so important to continue talking about, though, as she is a beloved mother to three children who have not had her in their life lives, and she is missed by so many people who cared a lot about her. In August this year, The Sun published an article about her disappearance with many of the aspects of the case contained in it. You never know who has information, and it could take that one person hearing about the case to come forward with the key

to solving it. Stephanie went missing on a walk that should have taken her less than ten minutes. She must have been seen by someone, or someone must have seen something that night that they thought was suspicious or odd. Stephanie went missing on the twenty third of March nineteen ninety in Newport, so if you think that you know anything about her disappearance, then please contact police on one

oh one. Thank you for listening to today's episode. 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 month. You can also get access to new episodes earlier 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.

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