Police seek woman missing for 53 years

Police have launched an appeal to find a teenager who went missing exactly 53 years ago.

Bedfordshire Police said there had been no confirmed sightings of Tina Whittamore, born Tina King, since she went for a walk in Luton on 31 May 1971, then aged 15.

Detectives know she had at one point moved to High Wycombe and it is believed she may have been treated at a London hospital in 1990.

The force has created an image of what Ms Whittamore, who originally lived in Kempston and would now be 68, could look like today.

She was born in Leighton Buzzard in 1955 and was placed in Luton Whitaker Mother and Baby Unit in 1971.

Police said the teenager, who was 5ft 2in (1.57m) tall with light brown hair and brown eyes, was officially last seen at about 14:30 on 31 May.

However, in September that year Thames Valley Police issued a missing report for a woman called Christine King, 18, who had gone missing from High Wycombe.

It was later established she and Ms Whittamore were the same person.

Detectives found information suggesting she had lived and worked in Soho and Notting Hill, London, in the 1970s.

Metropolitan Police believed she was in a London hospital in 1990 but were unable to confirm her identity before she discharged herself.

In 1991 it was reported she was sleeping rough in the Notting Hill area but there have been no sightings since.

Bedfordshire Police said she could be identified by a slight squint in her left eye and has been known to dye her her blonde and wear a wig.

Det Sgt James Morgan of the force said: “We realise this is a case from many years ago, but we never give up trying to find people reported as missing.

“Cases such as these are reviewed on an ongoing basis and are re-opened if any new information is shared with us. We would just like to know that Tina is safe.”