Woman missing for more than 50 years has been found alive

A woman who was missing for over 50 years has been found alive.

As one of the oldest missing person cases in the whole of the UK, Shelia Fox, who disappeared from her home when she was 16-years-old has now been found.

Fox was only a schoolgirl at the time and lived with her parents when she disappeared in 1972, and police suspected that she may have been in a relationship with an older man, Metro reports.

For five decades, she had seemingly vanished and West Midlands police had previously investigated whether or not she had changed her name and left the area or perhaps she had come to harm, as per the BBC.

On Sunday (29 December), West Midlands renewed their appeal to locate Sheila, and according to a press release, members of the public contacted them 'within hours' to confirm her whereabouts.

Sheila Fox as only 16 at the time she vanished (West Midlands Police)

West Midlands Police found a photograph of Sheila from close to the time she vanished, and shared it on their social media accounts.

Police say Shelia is safe and well, and is 'living in another part of the country'.

Detective Sergeant Jenna Shaw said: "We're absolutely delighted to have found Sheila after more than five decades.

"We searched through every piece of evidence we could find and managed to locate a photo of Sheila.

"We are a small team of officers and I'd like to recognise the work of DC Shaun Reeve, who managed to resolve this case with help from the public.

"Every missing person has a story, and their families and friends deserve to know what happened to them and, hopefully, be reunited with them."

The discovery of Sheila finally closes the door on one of the longest-running missing person investigations in the force's history.

There was seemingly no evidence of Shelia's whereabouts after her disapperance (Getty stock image)

Prior to this, the last place Shelia was spotted in the city centre, however, police found no traces of her in public records.

After renewing the appeal, a police spokesperson (via the BBC) said: "It is believed Sheila's parents are now deceased, so we are hoping anyone out there who might know what happened to her will get in touch with us and let us know."

Tyla has reached out to the West Midlands Police for further comment.

In 2023, another woman who was declared dead after going missing in 1992 was also found to be alive decades later.

82-year-old Patricia Kopta, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was first reported missing by her husband six months after her initial disappearance in June 1992.

Patricia was soon located about 1,700 miles (2,700km) from her home alive in a nursing home in Puerto Rico.