Police to dig up garden in hunt for missing woman

Tuesday 26 June 2012

POLICE are to dig up a garden in the hunt for a teacher who went missing nearly 43 years ago.

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Jennifer Hyland

Detectives fear the remains of mother-of-two Ellen Ruffle may be buried at the property. She lived at the address in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, with her husband and two children before vanishing without trace, aged 34, in November, 1969.

Officers from Strathclyde Police approached the current owners of the house at the weekend to say they were planning to carry out excavation work. It is understood they are acting on a tip-off that she was killed and her body dumped in the garden. A major reinvestigation into her disappearance is under way. Mrs Ruffle, a former primary teacher, lived at the house from 1967 to 1969 with her husband Norman, son Graham and daughter Rosemary. Shortly after her disappearance, Mr Ruffle took the family to live in South Africa. Police launched an investigation at the time but found no trace of Mrs Ruffle. She was last seen visiting her mother's home in another part of Motherwell. A source said: "The new owners of the house got a chap on the door from the police."They said they were investigating the disappearance of a former resident of the house and would have to dig up the garden. It came as a real shock to them. They have lived in the house for a few years and had no idea of the background to the case. "The police believe they have credible information that something linked to Mrs Ruffle's disappearance will be found at the property. "They wouldn't be going to all the trouble of digging up the garden otherwise."She was a well-respected teacher and the case baffled police at the time. It was so out of character. What happened has been a mystery all these years."Mrs Ruffle, who was also known as Evelyn and had the maiden name McNally, was married in Singapore in 1961 and taught the children of British Army personnel who were based in the former colony.Five years ago, Mrs Ruffle's son Graham, 44, launched a public appeal for information to help trace his mother, who would now be 77 years old.At the time, he said he was convinced she was still alive and told how the family wanted to let her know she had three grandchildren.He said: "The problem at this stage is that I do believe she is still alive. I have checked the police, mortuaries, everywhere. But every time I try something new I hit a brick wall."If anyone knows where she is I would really like them to get in touch with me."Graham has no children, but his sister Rosemary, who still lives in South Africa, has two daughters and a son. They had an elder sister, Wendy, who died in 1965 aged 13 months.In 2004, Graham posted a message on the internet and received three responses. That led him to family on his mother's side and he met his cousins. He also spoke to an ex-colleague of his mum's at Cathedral Primary School who said she was "there one day and gone the next".A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said yesterday: "We will be conducting a search at a premises in Motherwell in relation to a long-term missing persons inquiry."

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Police to dig up garden in hunt for missing woman

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