By Missing 9-year-old Scunthorpe girl has fresh appeal issued after 50 years
A fresh appeal has been issued for a missing 9-year-old Scunthorpe girl after 50 years, it has been reported.
9-year-old Christine Markham left her home in Scunthorpe on May 21, 1973 and was never seen again.
Her disappearance was later linked to a child serial killer.
An array of theories surrounded the mysterious disappearance, some suggested the notorious Robert Black may have kidnapped her. Others have suggested that Joseph Kappen, known as the “Saturday Night Strangler”, was behind the incident.
Serial killer Kappen, who died of cancer in 1990, was linked to three teen girls in Port Talbot during the same year that the Scunthorpe 9-year-old went missing.
In 2006, police received an anonymous note that suggested he may have been the one who took the young girl. However, no further update was ever given. Paedophile and child killer, Robert Black was the prime suspect in the case.
Between 1981-1986, Black kidnapped and murdered four girls.
Additionally, he was suspected of committing multiple child murders that dated back to the late 1960’s.
He was eventually caught in 1990 after a six-year-old girl was found in the back of his van.
Black later admitted he was behind another string of cases, which included Christine’s disappearance.
Around 40 cases of child abduction and murder linked to Black were investigated in the 1990s, despite him refusing to cooperate.
Black took his secrets to the grave after he died in 2016.
Sadly, Christine’s parents have passed away without knowing what happened to their young daughter.
Her mum would leave the porch light on every night, waiting for her 9-year-old girl to return home.
Speaking to The Sun, Humberside Police said in a recent statement:
“Our officers remain dedicated in trying to piece together what happened to Christine and this remains an ongoing investigation. Unfortunately, no new information has come to us recently”
“However, if anybody has any information, no matter how small you think it is, we would ask that you come forward so that we can look into it”
(Image: Steph Cooper)
