Who was Carol Ann Stephens and what happened to her? | The Sun
HAVING returned from an errand to the shops, six-year-old Carol Ann Stephens "went out to play".
There was nothing out of the ordinary in this but her parents were to never see their daughter alive again.
Who was Carol Ann Stephens?
Carol Ann Stephens was a happy, lively girl who would always engage in conversations with people.
Being six-years-old she still had the naivety of children of that age and would speak to strangers.
The Cardiff schoolgirl had plenty of friends as she would often play outside with them.
What happened to Carol Ann Stephens?
On April 7, 1959, Carol went to the shops for her mother to get some cigarettes and sweets.
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Such was the way at the time, there nothing out of the ordinary of parents asking their children to get such supplies from the shops.
Often accompanied by a note from the parent, to confirm the purchase was for them and not the child, she returned home with all she had been tasked to buy.
After dropping these items home, she told her mum that she was going out to play.
Her mother told her that she was cooking dinner and not to be long, but recalled she felt she was very anxious to get back out.
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Carol Ann Stephens' friend, Kevin Northcott, told her mum that she had told him she was going for a ride in a car.
Other friends, after the event, had recounted how she had been telling them that she had a "new uncle" in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.
As cars were still quite a rare thing at the time, it could be seen as a big thing for a child to go for a ride in one.
Her friend said that he had seen her approach a green car that was parked around the corner and he witnessed Carol Ann tapping on the passenger side door.
A number of other witnesses had seen her getting out of a green car in the days before her disappearance.
The young girl's mother had told police how they had discouraged her from speaking to strangers but she was a friendly girl.
After her not returning home, police launched an appeal and conducted a huge manhunt.
Then on April 2, 1959, the investigation came to an abrupt end.
Carol Ann Stephens' body was found in a small ravine near the hamlet of Horeb in Carmarthenshire.
It was believed she had been dead for more than a week before the body was discovered due to overhanging leaves and branches.
She had been sexually assaulted and strangled before her body was dumped some 60 miles away from where she disappeared.
Despite police speaking to 10,000 people, having searched 3,000 vehicles, and taking more than 1,100 statements there were no clues whatsoever.
The incident let to a campaign being launched making children aware of "stranger danger" and to not get into cars with strangers.
Who was Carol Ann Stephens' mother?
Mavis Stephens, Carol Ann's mother, was separated from her father.
She lived with her then boyfriend and step-father of the young girl.
Carol Ann Stephen's father was interviewed by police about the disappearance as he had been wanting custody of his daughter.
He reported to the Met Police and was able to prove that he was in London at the time of the incident.
After the event, numerous witnesses spoke of how they had seen the young girl getting in and out of a green car in the lead up to her abduction.
A neighbour even reported seeing a man looking over their garden wall peering at Carol Ann's bedroom one evening.
Despite this information, police were never able to find the person responsible for the abduction and murder of Carol Ann Stephens.
Her mother passed away in 2002, never knowing what truly happened to her daughter on that fateful day.
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The disappearance and murder of the young girl will feature as part of a new three-part documentary called Cold Case Detectives on ITV1 airing on March 9, 2023 at 9pm.
For those who wish to catch-up on the programme it will be possible to watch it again on ITVX.
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