18th Anniversary For Missing Woman

9 November 2011, 12:35 | Updated: 9 November 2011, 12:43

On the 18th anniversary of the disappearance of Jaime Cheesman, Northants Police are renewing their appeals for Jaime or anyone who knows where she is to get in contact.

Even after 18 years, Jaime's family are still desperate for news of her and hope that she will make contact with police. We should stress that if she makes contact with us we will not pass on her details to her family without her consent. We should acknowledge that Jaime is in her 30s now, and has a new life, a new identity and perhaps a family of her own and we would do nothing to disrupt that situation, but her family just want closure - for 18 years they have not known what caused her to break contact or what became of her. Her family believe that Jaime may have adopted a traveller lifestyle and remain convinced she was seen in the Wellingborough area a couple of times in the 1990s, but the police have found no audit trail for her since the day she disappeared.

Jaime, who lived with her parents Eric and Barbara in Wellingborough, was 16 when she was reported missing on November 8 1993 after staying with friends in Grimsby.
Media appeals at the time of her disappearance led to a number of unconfirmed sightings of Jaime, but none of these were ever corroborated. Checks of official records have also failed to locate Jaime and she is officially recorded as a missing person – her details are registered with the National Missing Persons Helpline and on the Missing Kids UK website.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Kinchin, of Northamptonshire Police, who is leading the appeals for information, said: "Jaime has now been missing for 18 years and obviously I will have concerns for her welfare until she is found.

"Jaime was 16 when she went missing, so would now be 34 and her life might have changed dramatically. Obviously at 34 Jaime is not going to be taken home like a child, but her family would desperately like to know that she is safe and happy, if nothing else.

"At the time of Jaime going missing, enquiries were carried out in Northamptonshire and Grimsby, without any success. I know that some of Jaime’s associates were involved in minor crime and may have been reluctant to talk to the police at the time; others may have agreed not to reveal her location. It is my hope that after 18 years people may now feel able to help me piece together Jaime’s story.

"There is no known reason for Jaime not to have made contact with her family. However, after her disappearance, two rumours circulated: one that she was pregnant, and another that she had decided to live a Traveller lifestyle. If Jaime was pregnant her child would now be about 17 years old. Jaime is not in any kind of trouble and her family, who still live in Wellingborough, are desperate to hear from her.

"Jaime's appearance will have changed over 18 years and even people who knew her well might find it difficult to confidently recognise her now. For this reason I am not appealing for sightings of Jaime, by people who don't know her. Instead I would appeal for anybody and everybody who has ever known Jaime to contact me, even if they have been spoken to by us before.

"I want to know everything about Jaime - what she was like, what she liked, her lifestyle, habits and interests and who else she knew. Ultimately I would like to know where she went in November 1993 and, importantly, where she is now.

"I would love Jaime or somebody who knows her whereabouts to contact me, in confidence, to confirm she is safe and well, but I have to acknowledge the possibility that Jamie has died since 1993, perhaps under a different identity, and I welcome any information whatsoever."

Jaime’s father, Eric Cheesman, now in his sixties, said:

"We would really like to hear from Jaime or anyone who knows what’s happened to her over the past 18 years. She was an outgoing girl with quite a few friends and someone must know something."

It is known that at the beginning of the month Jaime went missing, back in November 1993, she returned to her parents' home around the time of her grandfather’s birthday. On 3 November she left home with two friends to travel to Grimsby.

It is known that she arrived safely in Grimsby, as she signed on for unemployment benefit. She stayed that night with friends at an address in Coomber Place, Grimsby, as she had done on previous occasions. It was reported that overnight, Jaime became involved in an argument and left the address, leaving her possessions behind. She never returned to Coomber Place or her parents’ home. Jaime had a number of associates in Grimsby, but at the time nobody was identified who admitted seeing her after she left Coomber Place.

Jaime grew up with her parents in Wellingborough and attended Christopher Hatton School in Wellingborough and later Lings School in Northampton. She had a poor attendance record at school and regularly played truant in the later years.

Jaime was popular and had many friends both in and out of school. She enjoyed letter writing and kept in touch with friends by letter. She also made a number of friends who were part of the Traveller communities in Wellingborough, Northampton and Irchester.

In 1993, Jaime left school and started travelling frequently, with her parents knowledge, to meet and stay with friends in Grimsby. Although she was often in Grimsby for some time she maintained contact with her parents.

Jaime or anyone who knows her whereabouts now or anyone with any information is asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101, or f you would prefer to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Alternatively, Jaime or anyone who knew her or knows her can contact Detective Chief Inspector Martin Kinchin by e-mail on martin.kinchin@northants.pnn.police.uk