Tragedy as mum of Nicola Payne, who went missing 31 years ago, dies before her daughter's mystery is solved
7 March 2023, 11:32
The mother of a young woman who went missing more than 30 years ago has died without ever finding out what caused her daughter to disappear.
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Nicola Payne, 18, went missing while walking in thick fog in a wasteland in Coventry on December 14, 1991. It should have been a five minute journey to her parents' house - but she never arrived.
Police have always believed the mother of one was murdered that day and her body buried somewhere locally.
But no trace of Ms Payne's body has ever been found, despite widespread searches of homes, forests and rivers. Private investigators, including Peter Faulding, who helped in the recent hunt for Nicola Bulley, also took part.
Ms Payne disappeared after leaving her seven-month-old son Owen with boyfriend Jason Cooke at his home to visit her mother and father.
Police have made several arrests in connection with her disappearance over the years, but two men were acquitted in 2015 after a botched police investigation.
Now Ms Payne's mother Marilyn has died aged 77, her family said.
In an announcement on Facebook, they said: "Nicola's family are devastated to announce the death of her mum, Marilyn Payne.
"A tenacious woman who never gave up on finding her daughter and laying her to rest.
"The bravery she showed was extraordinary, and now her determination will continue through her family and many friends in order to finally bring Nicola home."
Marilyn and her husband John never gave up hope in their quest to find the truth about their daughter's disappearance. The family last made a public appeal in 2021, the 30th anniversary of Nicola going missing.
Her aunt Melanie Eales, told LBC at the time that Marilyn's fear was "to leave this world not knowing what happened to Nic. They just want to know, it would just give them some peace.
"At the beginning of every year, for the last 30 years, I've always thought maybe this is our year," Ms Eales added.
Family of Nicola Payne on women's safety 30 years after her disappearance
|Maybe somebody out there will be brave enough. Come forward, do it anonymously, just drop a note somewhere and say this is where she is.
"Just try and think how it must feel to not have your child and not know where they are."
Anyone with information about Ms Payne's disappearance should contact West Midlands Police on 101 or via its Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk between 8am and midnight.
Alternatively they can call Crimestoppers confidentially on 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
