Lindsay Rimer disappeared after leaving her local Spar(Image: PA)

Fresh appeal to solve murder of girl who left home to buy corn flakes but never came back

Lindsay Rimer, 13, went missing exactly 30 years ago and she was found dead five months later, but her killer has never been found. Police have now issued a new appeal

by · The Mirror

Police have issued a renewed appeal in a bid to solve the murder of a 13-year-old who went missing 30 years ago when she left her home to go to her local shop.

Lindsay Rimer disappeared from Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, on November 7, 1994. The schoolgirl was last seen in the town's Memorial Gardens, close to a bus stop on New Road at 10.45pm that night, West Yorkshire Police said.

She had been to the nearby Trades Club on Holme Street to see her mum and collect some money before heading to the Spar convenience store on Crown Street to buy some corn flakes. CCTV footage captured Lindsay in the supermarket while she bought the cereal, before leaving at 10.23pm.

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She was 13 when she went missing( Image: PA)
Lindsay's body was found five months after she disappeared( Image: PA)

The widely-circulated CCTV was the last-known footage of her. The alarm was launched the following morning, when Lindsay failed to turn up for her paper round. A police investigation was launched and tragically, five months later, on April 12, 1995, her body was found in the Rochdale Canal, close to Callis Bridge, about a mile away from her home.

Now, on the 30th anniversary of Lindsay's disappearance, police have issued a new appeal, urging anyone with information on the tragedy to come forward. Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle, Senior Investigating Officer at West Yorkshire Police's Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET), said: "Lindsay Rimer was a 13-year-old child who lived here in Hebden Bridge with her mum, her dad, her brothers and sisters.

"She was a bright, inquisitive, independent girl and on November 7, 1994, she did what any 13-year-old girl should be allowed to do. She went to the shop. She called via the Trades Club to see her mum, she called into the shop. And then someone brutally murdered her, and left body in the canal, hoping that no one in the family would ever know what had happened.

She was last seen in the shop( Image: PA)

"It's 30 years to the day that this happened. There has been an immense police inquiry around it and we're still no closer to the truth about what happened. And so my appeal today is threefold. Firstly, do you have suspicions about someone? Were you maybe a prison officer, a probation officer, a teacher who's always 'wondered what about that person?' Now's the time. 30 years later, now's the time."

He continued: "Secondly, were you in Hebden Bridge at the time? Have you always wondered about coming forward. Loyalties change over 30 years. Now's the time to talk to us. And thirdly, were you involved? Do you have this on your conscience? Maybe you weren't responsible for the murder, but you know exactly what happened. 30 years later, now's the time to talk to us.

"You can ring us. You can go online and make a report, anonymously or otherwise. Tonight is 30 years since November 7, 1994 and my team and I are here in Hebden Bridge. We'll be here all night. Come and talk to us because now is the time."

Juliet Rimer at the age of five( Image: PA)

Lindsay's sisters also spoke out about the tragic loss they suffered - and the grief their family went through after her body was found. Juliet, who was just 18 months when her elder sister disappeared, appealed for people to get in contact with any information that could help identify the person or persons who killed Lindsay.

She said: "We want someone to come forward with information, because you never know that tiny piece of information might be the missing piece in the puzzle and might just fit everything together and put this to rest." And Lindsay's elder sister, Kate, added: "If you know something about my sister’s murder and the person who killed her, you have a moral obligation to come forward because this needs to end for our family, and it needs to end for Lindsay as well."

Juliet Rimer, the younger sister of Lindsay( Image: PA)

Detectives investigating Lindsay's murder and uniformed officers from the Calder Valley Neighbourhood Policing Team will be in Hebden Bridge all day today to engage with members of the public who they hope will come forward with information about Lindsay's murder. Anyone with information they think may be relevant to the enquiry is urged to get in contact with officers either in person today or by contacting:

Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.