Leah Croucher
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In 2020, in a small California mountain town, five women disappeared. I found out what happened to all of them, except one. A woman known as Dia, whose estate is worth millions of dollars. I'm Lucy Sheriff. Over the past four years, I've spoken with Dia's family and friends, and I've discovered that everyone has a different version of events.

Hear the story on Where's Dear? Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Voices for Justice is a podcast that uses adult language and discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics, including violence, abuse, and murder.

This podcast may not be appropriate for younger audiences. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some names have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice. Today I'm discussing the case of 19-year-old Leah Croucher from Milton Keynes, England.

On February 15th, 2019, Leah got up for work at the same time she always did in order to make the 30-40 minute walk to her job in Knoll Hill. After her shift ended at 5pm, her parents received a call from her employer informing them that Leah never made it to work that day. Although there are many witnesses who claim to have seen Leah the day she went missing and after, the Thames Valley Police have deemed every single sighting unconfirmed.

The investigation leaves the public and her family with more questions than it does answers. Did Leah leave on her own accord? Was she in a secret, forbidden relationship with someone who needed her to disappear? Or was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? This is the case of Leah Croucher.

Before she went missing, Leah Croucher lived with her parents, John and Claire, in Milton Keynes, England, approximately 50 miles northwest of London. Born in 1999, Leah is the baby of the family. She has an older sister named Jade and had an older brother named Hayden. Although while she attended Milton Keynes College, her focus was media studies, she worked as an administrative assistant at a nearby finance company in Noel Hill.

Now, Leah didn't want to live at home for much longer. By 2019, at age 19, she was saving up to get her own place with a friend. There didn't seem to be any major tension between Leah and her parents causing her to want to leave. It seems like she was just ready to move out on her own. She was ready to fly.

It does seem like Leah is very close to her entire family. She spent years doing martial arts with them, and even competed in national tournaments. Her mother Claire says Christmas was still a huge deal at their house, and she would spend weeks preparing for the kids to all come back home to be together.

Leah also still had dinner at home with her parents almost every single night, and she was very excited about an upcoming vacation she planned with her family, having recently helped her mom pick out the hotel. Now, Leah herself has been described as shy but confident and very bright. She is an introvert and really loves being at home and cuddling up with a good book. She specifically loves the Twilight and Harry Potter novels.

She also enjoys sitting down and going through a DVD box set series. Her parents say she would much rather be at home any night rather than out at the club, which literally, same.

Like many 19-year-olds around this time, Leah communicated with her friends by text message or social media, specifically favoring Snapchat. Which, if you aren't familiar, the difference between messaging with people over text or other social media platforms is that Snapchat messages disappear over time. Even unopened one-on-one snaps are automatically deleted from the Snapchat servers after 31 days. This is important to know.

especially because Leah's parents would later express concern about their fears that Leah was hiding a relationship from them that they believe might be key to bringing her home. On Thursday, February 14th, 2019, or Valentine's Day for many of us, Leah returns home from work around 6pm like usual. But her parents would later find out that while Leah was making the 30 or so minute walk home, she turned off the location sharing on her phone.

Normally, Leah's entire family shared their locations with each other just for safety reasons. But for some reason, for the first time ever, Leah turned hers off.

But her family doesn't know this just yet, so they don't suspect that anything odd is happening at this point. When Leah gets home from work, she changes into tracksuit bottoms and a long-sleeved Harry Potter shirt that says, I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. Then she tells her parents that she's going to meet up with a friend. Leah leaves the house and returns about an hour later at 7.15 p.m.,

When she gets home, she's not super excited about what her mom made for dinner, so she orders some takeout and later goes to bed at 10pm. Her parents say it was a totally normal night. But when authorities and Leah's parents later followed up with the friend she said that she'd met up with that night, they say they never saw Leah. Where Leah was on this night and why she turned off location sharing on her phone is still unknown as of recording this episode.

The next day, Friday, February 15th, 2019, was a very cold day. It was below zero degrees, or negative 18 Celsius.

But Leah braves the cold and leaves for work at 8am like she did every other workday. She was wearing a black coat, black skinny jeans, black Converse high-top shoes, and was carrying a small black backpack. Underneath her coat, she wears a very distinctive gray hoodie with the logo of the Stuart B. Taekwondo Club.

Leah didn't drive, so she did normally walk to work. I think it's also important to note that she took special care to switch up her route to work periodically for safety reasons. But for the last few days, she'd taken the same route that took her around First and Lake. This was about a 30-minute walk from her home in Quantock Crescent.

At 8.07am, she's seen on camera in Lee Hill, not far from her home. At 8.13am, she's seen again on camera walking down Buzzacott Lane in Furston. This is the last confirmed sighting of Leah. She appeared to be on one of her normal routes to work. In the videos, you can see that she appears to be fine, and authorities agree. She doesn't seem to be upset or distracted.

It looks like she's walking with purpose to her destination. At 8.20am, there is an unconfirmed sighting of Leah in the area of Teletubby Hill in Furston. Then, 14 minutes later, at 8.34am, Leah's phone is turned off. She was believed to be at the northern end of Furston Lake near the Premier Inn Hotel at this time. From here, what we know for sure is that Leah never makes it to work.

At the end of the day, her employer calls her parents to tell them that she didn't show up for work and she didn't call out sick. Of course, they're panicked. Leah isn't one to not communicate with them. And as far as they could tell, there was nothing special about this day. She left for work at the same time she normally did, and took all the same items with her she always did. Nothing was missing. Nothing was weird about her room.

Her bed was made and her curtains were open just like they were every day. So they call the Thames Valley Police to report her missing. This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by Quince. I can't believe that we are rolling into fall, but we are, which means it's time to refresh your wardrobe. And luckily, Quince offers timeless and high-quality pieces that will not blow your budget.

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After their daughter Leah doesn't come home from work, John and Claire Croucher call the Thames Valley Police to report her missing. By Sunday, they issue a press release. By Tuesday, February 19th, they release video footage of Leah's last known whereabouts on Buzzacott Lane. They also tell the public about her phone being shut off, and stress that Leah's bank account hasn't been touched. By this time, Leah's picture and this video are pretty much everywhere.

There were flyers all over the area and of course her family and police were sharing on social media as much as they could. On the 22nd, her mother makes an emotional plea for Leah to come home. If you are able to see or hear this, please, please, please come home. You're not in any trouble because we love you so much. We want our beautiful, wonderful little girl to come home.

If there's something bothering you, we can help you to fix it. You're not alone. You will never be alone as long as me and dad are here. Soon, people begin to come forward with alleged sightings of Leah. There were two unconfirmed sightings of Leah near Teardrop Lake around 8.45am on the day she went missing. This prompts a huge search of the lake and the surrounding area. But they didn't find any evidence related to Leah's disappearance.

Some of the most notable sightings come from three witnesses who claim to have seen a person matching Leah's description near Furston Lake on the morning she went missing. One witness says they saw someone who was typing on their phone between 9.30 and 10 a.m. The other two witnesses were together, and they remember seeing a woman that was visibly angry and crying between 10 and 10.15 a.m.,

These same two witnesses recall seeing this woman again 20 minutes later, but this time she was much calmer and appeared to be speaking with someone on the phone. Although it is believed that this person could be Leah, these sightings are all considered unconfirmed. Actually, every sighting of Leah that isn't backed up by video evidence has been deemed unconfirmed by police. At this point, the Thames Valley police and Leah's family are stumped.

The area Leah went missing from is a busy residential area. It's very public with a lot of houses and busy roads, and their searches were coming up empty. They had dogs, ground and air units. They had marine and dive teams searching nearby bodies of water, including First Inn Lake where her phone shut off. Authorities visited 4,000 homes in the area. Spirits

spoke with over 100 potential witnesses, and reviewed over 1,200 hours of video footage, and they couldn't find any clue to lead them to where Leah could have gone. So after these initial searches were conducted and the police spoke with as many potential witnesses as possible, of course, they start digging deeper into Leah's personal life.

This is when the police and her parents find out that Leah wasn't where she said she was on the night before she went missing, and that she turned off her location tracking. They also discover that Leah seemed to be going through a bit of a rough patch before she disappeared.

Looking back, because hindsight is 20-20, you guys, her parents realize that Leah did seem a bit more moody and just irritable. Then, as they keep thinking about the evidence, about her phone being turned off, about her lying about where she was going, turning off her location, they realize that someone from Leah's past that she said she was done with may have been back in her life without them knowing it.

This is Leah's alleged ex-boyfriend. Now, let's break this down. This man, who I will not name in this episode, has been given the name Mr. X by police and the media.

Mr. X is almost 10 years older than Leah and a former co-worker of hers. There are a lot of rumors swirling in the media about this person, and he denies having a relationship with Leah at all. But it's alleged that despite having a relationship with Leah, Mr. X was engaged to another person at the time. According to Leah's family, Leah and Mr. X were romantically involved.

Before they broke up, Leah would spend about 30 euros to travel by taxi to see him, and would mostly only visit him at night. When Leah's mother discovered that Mr. X was engaged, she discouraged the relationship, saying he would never truly be Leah's. And eventually, Leah told her family that the relationship ended.

Now, some of the more intense rumors involve Mr. X grooming Leah and possibly being involved in an arranged marriage that he was unhappy with.

I want to stress that those are just rumors. But as we will continue to learn, Leah's parents do believe Mr. X knows more than what he's saying. While Mr. X says he and Leah were just colleagues and friends who never had a romantic relationship. The police would later state that they do not find Mr. X to be suspicious.

Leah's brother Hayden eventually publicly accused Mr. X of grooming and mistreating Leah, saying, quote, he fucked with the wrong people, end quote. Now, I want to say that it was very clear to everyone around him that Hayden was having a very difficult time with Leah's disappearance, and he seemed convinced that Mr. X held the key to finding answers about his sister.

At the end of May 2019, Hayden Croucher was brought to court because of this post and messages he'd sent to Mr. X. Judge Francis Sheridan approved Mr. X's request for a restraining order.

and in my opinion, was quite kind to Hayden, explaining that it was a tragedy that Hayden was even standing before him, stating, "...you and your family are entitled to and deserve our utter sympathy because Leah is missing. The police have fully investigated the person that you suspected. There is, at this stage, nothing to support those suspicions. Can I plead with you to behave so that police can complete this investigation?"

I would love to say with a happy ending, but I simply do not know. She is missing. I cannot go into the details of the police investigation, but can tell you it's being controlled at a very high level. It is detailed, and if I respectfully say so, they are really trying desperately hard. You must allow them, however strongly you feel, to do the investigating."

You will jeopardize their investigation if you get into your head that somebody is responsible for it. I repeat, the family have the court's sympathy, but I beg you, please, let the police do the job, and there is no basis for your suspicions."

Hayden was ordered to stay at least 25 meters or about 82 feet away from Mr. Axe at all times. He was also prohibited from contacting him in any way, or visiting the Knoll Hill area of Milton Keynes, where Mr. Axe and Leah previously worked together.

But Leah's case continued to be worked, and the community united to help raise awareness. By August 14th, Leah missed her 20th birthday. A local music festival held at Furston Lake was being held at the same time, and was held in her honor that year. Proceeds from ticket sales went to the charity Missing People, that has been very supportive of Leah's parents and her case.

Claire Croucher told the media that it was something for her family to actually look forward to during such a difficult time.

The next month, the case was featured on BBC's Crimewatch Roadshow program. They reenacted and explained Leah's disappearance, in hopes of generating leads. And it did. After seeing the show, a woman calls to say she saw a grey hoodie near Blue Lagoon Lake in February. This prompted a huge, nearly two-week-long search. But they ultimately found nothing.

John Croucher told BBC News, quote, I didn't want to find my daughter at the Blue Lagoon, but we still have no answers. Where is she? Where has she gone? End quote. While Claire stated, quote, It's a relief and a curse. We did not want to find Leah there. End quote. Then, at the end of November, tragedy struck the Croucher family again when Leah's brother Hayden dies by suicide.

His family says he was just never able to cope with Leah being gone. He was found in his home by his mother and his sister, after seeking hospitalization and not being able to find a bed in his area.

The Central and Northwest London NHS Foundation Trust Milton Keynes has been greatly scrutinized for this. After an investigation into Hayden's case, they have since admitted to 14 failings in relation to his care, including a failure to admit him in October 2019. The Clinical Director of Mental Health Services stated, quote,

End quote.

They've also committed to a new 24-hour crisis resolution and home treatment plan. Now, of course, you guys, I want to take a moment to provide some resources. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health and need help in the UK, you can contact Calm at 0800-585858 or visit thecalmzone.net.

If you are in the U.S., you can dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. These, along with other resources, can be found in the description of this episode.

By the end of 2019, Claire Croucher made a video to raise awareness about Leah's case. This was posted to the Missing People YouTube channel. She explains that despite Christmas being their favorite holiday as a family, after Leah going missing and losing Hayden, there would be no Christmas that year. She said she wasn't sure if they would ever celebrate Christmas again.

By the one-year anniversary of Leah's disappearance in February 2020, tensions were mounting, and Leah's parents publicly criticized the Thames Valley Police for their investigation into a person assumed to be Mr. X. Not only that, they threatened to go public with information if he isn't looked into further. John Croucher said, "...I know for a fact there's a certain person out there that is keeping evidence from the police."

Leah's mother adds that there was no evidence in Leah's phone to suggest that she and Mr. Axe were engaging in a secret relationship.

So she and her family believe that they either communicated via Snapchat and the messages have since been deleted, or Leah could have been using a secret phone supplied by Mr. X.

Which, going back to the unconfirmed sightings of Leah on the day she went missing, this idea of a second, secret phone checks out. If the phone Leah's family knew about was turned off by 8:34 AM, the three witnesses who saw Leah using a phone between 9:30 and 10:35 AM can only make sense if a second phone was involved, or if a random person let Leah use their phone for an extended period of time.

So, either it wasn't Leah, or it was Leah and she was using a phone that the police can't find. In addition to the frustration over the investigation into Mr. X, and these questions about a possible second phone, Leah's parents also reveal that they believe Leah may have lied about seeing Mr. X a few weeks before she went missing.

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Now 20-year-old Leah Croucher has been missing for over a year. Despite extensive searches, surveillance video, and several unconfirmed witness statements, they are no closer to finding Leah than when she first went missing. Frustrated, her parents tell the media that they are disappointed in the investigation into Leah's alleged ex-partner, Mr. X, and they threaten to name him publicly if the lead isn't investigated further.

Then, Leah's parents make another huge announcement. After digging into Leah's bank statements and speaking with her friends, they discover that she may have seen Mr. X about two weeks before she went missing.

On February 3rd, 2019, Leah told her parents that she was having a girls weekend with two of her girlfriends in Milton Keynes. Leah's father John even drove her to the jury's inn himself. But after she went missing, Leah's bank statements come in the mail, and her parents speak to the two friends she was supposed to be with. Not only do the friends deny ever being with Leah, it appears that Leah didn't even stay at the jury's inn where she was dropped off.

Instead, her family finds a charge for a nearby, much cheaper, travel lodge hotel for the weekend. Her family suspects that this was a secret meetup with Mr. X. Now, they only get this information when Leah's bank statement comes in the mail. And of course, they go to these hotels to request any security footage they might have. But it's already too late. No footage exists.

So, all they know for sure, and can prove, is that like the night before Leah went missing, she wasn't where she said she was. To Leah's family, it's clear. Leah told them she had a romantic relationship with Mr. X that began in 2018. She seemed smitten with him.

But once she told her parents that he was engaged, they urged her to break up with him. And they thought she did. Months later, Leah begins sneaking around, her attitude changes, and then bam, she's gone.

John Croucher told the media, "...Mr. X is the only anomaly that was in Leah's life, the only thing she lied about. We feel information he may have is our only chance of finding her. We kept quiet because the police strongly advised us it was the right thing to do. They asked us to trust them. We have to finally and publicly admit that we think they are wrong." End quote.

But the police say there is no evidence to suggest Mr. X was involved, reiterating that he has an alibi, and they don't consider him to be a suspect. Many months pass without any major developments in the case. It wasn't until September 2021 that the next major possible sighting of Leah was made public.

This witness went to the media, saying that on the morning Leah went missing, sometime between 8.35 and 8.40am, so literally just a minute after Leah's phone was turned off, she was waiting in traffic near Furston Lake when she saw a shiny black car also waiting in traffic literally right next to her waiting to turn. She noticed a right and then a left foot appear on the dashboard, saying they were smaller in size appearing to be female.

Then she sees the male driver take both hands off his steering wheel and push down the feet off the dashboard. She said it was very aggressive, like he was trying to hide someone. She tried to get the license plate number of the vehicle, but was at the wrong angle to see it. After she lost sight of the driver, she convinced herself that it was probably just a father upset with his child having their feet on the dashboard.

But then she saw Leah's story in the local paper and called police immediately. This witness told MK Citizen, "...I rang the number and quoted the reference number. The female who answered sounded quite young, and it seemed like she was either not very interested or had worked all night and was very tired. Either way, she did not appear to be very bothered about what I was saying, but she said she'd pass the information on."

We do know that the shoes the woman saw appear to possibly match the description of the black high-top converse Leah was wearing when she went missing. Quote, End quote.

But this witness says she never heard back from police. So in the next few weeks, she follows up twice. But the police tell her they can't comment on whether or not the lead was investigated. She also remains adamant that the police never interviewed her. While the Thames Valley police claim that they have spoken with this woman and investigated the claim.

They also say that the story she reported to the media varies from the story she originally reported to police. So, take it for what you will. In February 2022, on the third anniversary of Leah's disappearance, her parents release a statement. It reads, quote, "...it has been three long, desolate years since our beautiful and wonderful daughter Leah vanished without a trace on her way to work. We still have no answers as to why."

No clues as to what happened. No idea as to where or how she is. It's impossible to stay positive after all this time. It was difficult at the start of this. But now the task is so futile. Our lives are so bleak. It is harder each day to tell ourselves today will be the day that we will get answers. Today we will find out what happened three years ago. Today we get our treasured daughter back.

It is unimaginable to convince ourselves that this is not a lie we tell ourselves so we get out of bed each day. Each day is torture. Each day feels like an eternity of pain and despair. Our family reads everything that is written about Leah, both in the press and on social media. We are aware of the fake profiles that have been made claiming that Leah was pregnant and has run away.

Aware of the speculation that she is buried on farmland and eaten bray. Aware that people are saying that she ran after married, older Muslim men as she had a thing for them. We find this upsetting, hurtful, and disrespectful. None of this is true. All of it is vicious rumor and speculation. We would appreciate that if people have nothing pleasant to say, that they say nothing at all.

Our daughter has done nothing to deserve this, and neither have her family, who are forced to tolerate this vile behavior. It is inconceivable not to worry every second of every single day.

Sleep feels like an elusive character each night. Waking each morning, we never feel rested and refreshed. Each time the phone rings or there is a knock at the front door, our hearts still leap in our chests. That familiar surge of hope springing up in our throats. That familiar wave of despair that crashes over our very souls each time. It is not the police or Leah herself knocking at the door or calling on the phone.

Again, we ask for the public's help. You have all been so wonderful so far, still helping us search every face in the streets to see if they are Leah, still sharing on social media, still reporting possible sightings to the police.

We ask you to search your phones for pictures taken on the evening of February 2nd, 2019 outside the Jury's Inn slash Travel Lodge and the morning of February 15th, 2019 in the Furston area. Search your memories to see if you can remember one thing that may help the police in their search. Please contact the police with anything you know.

even if it seems small and insignificant. You are our only hope. You always have been. Leah, we only want to know you are safe and well. All you have to do is walk into a police station and tell them who you are and ask them to pass the message on to us that you want to stay away. You choose to remain apart from all who love and cherish you.

that you do not want to come home. Please, we miss you so much. We are so worried about you. If you left us all that day, please let us know that it was your choice. Because until that day happens, we will not stop. We will continue with the social media posts.

In March 2022, the Thames Valley Police re-release a very grainy photo of a person dressed all in black, seen at the Furston Lake between 10.45 and 11.30am on the morning Leah went missing. They

They say that through similar efforts, they were able to identify another witness at the lake that day, and they're hoping to eliminate the possibility that the figure all in black is Leah. They ask anyone who believes it may be them to come forward. Now, I wish I could describe this photo for you, but like I said, it's very grainy, to the point where it almost looks like just colors to me. Like, to me, this image almost looks like just a black tic-tac.

But I will have this picture along with other images related to the investigation on my website and over on the Voices for Justice podcast Instagram page so you can look and share.

Right when it seems like the police are kind of running out of new information and ways to keep the public engaged in the search for Leah, we get another huge possible sighting of her in April 2022. A 37-year-old self-proclaimed businesswoman says that she is certain she saw Leah just weeks after she went missing in March 2019.

This was at the Luton Airport in Bedfordshire, England, outside of London. The witness says she was flying to Amsterdam, waiting in line for passport control when she saw a young woman she believes to be Leah. Now, this young woman was with a man that she describes as being in his late 20s or early 30s, Asian, with gelled black hair and a trimmed beard. She added that he was not tall and had a South Asian accent.

"The girl was asking him questions about what they would do when they arrived and where they would stay. She seemed worried.

The man kept telling her, "'You'll find out when you get there.'" His tone was not nice. But what really made me suspicious was when the man said, "'Do not say you are traveling with me. Say you are traveling alone.'" He didn't say this just once. He said it several times. I thought it was very strange. The man went first and said he was traveling alone. Then it was the girl's turn. I heard her say her name was Leah, but I didn't catch the last name."

She also said she was traveling alone. But at the other side of the barrier rail, I could see the man waiting for her. She went through and they walked off together. It just didn't make sense to me. As a mom, I couldn't help worrying about this girl called Leah."

Unfortunately, this witness is unsure of where the couple planned to travel to. And when this was all happening, the woman just kind of finds it odd. She doesn't think much of it. But six months later, she actually moves to Milton Keynes and learns about Leah's case through giant banners her family put on bridges in the area. And then she remembers the couple at the airport, so she reports it to police. But just like the other witness who saw the activity in the black shiny car, this

This woman says the police never followed up, and they never did an interview, despite her following up several times. But the Thames Valley Police say that they are well aware of this report and are currently investigating.

Now, we're not going to shame this woman. It's so hard to know how we'll act in a moment like this. But I do want to take a second to encourage you to please report suspicious activity you see at airports. Especially something that may seem like a human trafficking situation. It could save someone's life.

That being said, please do not put yourself in danger, but try to find a discreet way of telling an officer or member of security as soon as you can. Although we are now past the three-year mark of Leah going missing, the investigation appears to be very active, and the media in the UK has not stopped discussing the case.

In May 2022, to mark Missing Children's Day on the 25th, Leah was featured on 3D posters and billboards across England. These campaigns were quite unique and got a lot of media attention. Instead of using a static image, the pictures of the missing were animated.

It would show them moving, smiling, and in Leah's case, blinking. Now, this is very similar to a program I used through Ancestry.com to animate my sister's picture, and it was a huge trend on TikTok a while back. It's an odd thing to see and feel.

When I animated Alyssa's picture and felt like she was brought back to life, I bawled my eyes out. But the hope in animating these images is that the public sees the missing as more than just a static image, that they see them as real people.

And what I think is really cool is the messaging was also pivoted to inspire people to take action. Instead of just using the word "missing" with some contact and reward information, these campaigns gave the viewer a direct call to action by using the word "help find" instead of "missing" and asking them to scan a QR code so they can share the poster on social media.

It may seem small, but even just a small shift in thinking, focus, and wording can make all the difference. And I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again, guys, just one share, your share, could make all the difference. Whether you have two followers or two million followers, you just never know who that share could reach. But that's basically where Leah's case is today.

Before we get to our call to action, let's take a moment to discuss the prevailing theories in Leah's case. Theory 1. Leah ran away. I'd say there is strong evidence to suggest this is not the case. According to her parents, Leah didn't take anything with her to indicate that she would be away from home for an extended period of time.

They also scoured her internet search history. There was no indication that she was researching how to run away, possible destinations, or anything else of note. Leah also didn't make any large withdrawals from her bank account before she went missing. She didn't take any clothing or toiletries, and her passport was left behind. Her cell phone, bank accounts, and social media haven't been used since she went missing.

Not to mention, Leah was an adult, and there didn't appear to be any type of abuse at the home that would make her scared of her parents. Leah was free to leave at any time. And remember, she was planning on moving out and was looking forward to an upcoming vacation. Also, if Leah planned on running away, why didn't she call into work so she'd have a head start? I have to imagine that she could have called out sick, so that they wouldn't call her emergency contact, her parents.

Theory 2: Leah was either taken by someone she knew, like Mr. X, or was taken by someone she didn't know.

Now, this one's tricky. Leah is a very skilled taekwondo competitor. She likely would have put up a good fight if she was taken. But that doesn't mean it's impossible by any means. Another complication with this theory is that all of the sightings of Leah after she was seen on camera at 8:16 are unconfirmed. But let's say those three sightings near Furston Lake are Leah. Who was she talking to? And why was she so upset?

Also, where did she get this second phone? And why did she have a second phone? Because Leah was reported to be alone and to be on the phone for an extended period of time, I find it unlikely that if this was Leah, she just borrowed a phone from someone nearby to use for this extended period of time. As a reminder, witnesses say that she was texting and 20 minutes later was making a phone call.

Now, there's just no denying that Mr. X doesn't look great in this case based on what we know. Leah's parents say all signs point to him, while Mr. X denies almost everything, and the Thames Valley police say that Mr. X has essentially been cleared. Theory 3. Leah took her own life. Although this could be possible, there's no indication to point toward this conclusion, and after extensive searches, Leah's body has never been found.

So I think anything further is just speculation. And possible harmful speculation. So I'm going to stop here. Like so many of the cases we discuss on this podcast, I feel like there are multiple possibilities for what may have happened to Leah Croucher.

So although I feel like we could speculate and theorize forever, let's do something more productive and get to our call to action. This one comes right from an interview Leah's sister Jade did with Local 5 News in 2019.

To anyone that might have information on Leah, I would beg them, please come forward. My family are living a nightmare, and that's the only way we can describe it. And I would hope that people would find it in their heart that if they did have that information, to help to end this nightmare. If Leah's listening to this, I just want her to know how loved she is. She's loved beyond measure. She's missed so much.

And there is nothing more that we want right now than for Leah to come home. In addition to sharing any information you may have, please take a moment to share Leah's picture and her story. No matter what happened to her, she deserves to be found. And her family deserves answers.

19-year-old Leah Croucher went missing from Milton Keynes, England on February 15th, 2019. As of recording this episode, Leah would be 22 years old, 23 in just a few weeks. She's 5'2", or approximately 160cm tall, with a slim build and she sometimes wears glasses. Her hair is brown and was just below her shoulders in 2019. When she went missing, she was wearing a black coat,

black skinny jeans, black converse, and a grey hoodie with the Stuart B. Taekwondo logo on it. Anyone with information is urged to visit mipp.police.uk or if you'd like to stay anonymous, you can contact Crimestoppers at 0800-555-111 or you can visit crimestoppers.uk.org.

But as always, thank you, I love you, and I'll talk to you next time. Voices for Justice is hosted and produced by me, Sarah Turney, and is a Voices for Justice Media original. To hear more stories hosted by me, check out my other podcast, Disappearances, only on Spotify. And for even more content, or if you just want to support the show, check out my Patreon page at patreon.com slash voices for justice.