50-year-old photo could be key in helping police solve mysterious cold case

A photo which is nearly half a century old could be vital in helping police finally solve a decades-spanning missing person's cold case.

In 2023, PC Shaun Reeve, who heads a cold case missing person team officially known as the Review Team of the Missing Person Investigation Team, reopened the case of a 20 year-old woman, Sarjit Kaur Mann, who disappeared seemingly without a trace nearly 50 years ago.

Sarjit, who was dubbed an 'outstanding student' had moved to Birmingham from India with her family and was studying maths at Birmingham University.

And, in the autumn of 1976, Sarjit alongside her brother and sister-in-law went on a road trip to France - but she never returned home.

Sarjit Kaur Mann went missing aged 20 years old during a holiday in France back in 1976 (West Midland Police)

Just four days into the holiday, on September 22, the trio went to a beach in the south of France where Sarjit reportedly made friends with 'three European, white females', per the Metro.

Two days later, on 24 September, Sarjit's brother and sister-in-law fly back home to England while the 'reserved and sensible' student chose to delay her return another three days on 27 September in order to continue sightseeing.

That would have been the very last time any of her family members would see her.

Looking back at the case, PC Reeve told Metro: "On 27 September, an unknown female who used the name Jane called the family home and told them Sarjit had drowned on a beach. The origin of this call was never traced. Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to track 'Jane' down."

PC Reeve went on to note that, when he began investigating the case, he explored 'everything'.

He made appeals on social media for the public to get in touch with information, checked GP appointments, investigated whether she has been known to police, if she’d been in contact with family, possible hospital admissions, and phone book inquiries.

His team also got in touch with the National Crime Agency and put out missing person reports abroad.

"Anything that anyone could think of in terms of proof of life, we covered," he assured. "We have made hundreds of inquiries with the hope that she’s alive - that she started a new life elsewhere.

A new photo of Sarjit could be vital in helping British police solve the decades-spanning missing person cold case (Missing People)

"Inquiries have taken us to countries around the world. We know she hasn’t contacted family since. If she has passed away, we are very much relying on DNA - relying on the body to be recovered, but that hasn’t been done yet."

When he first cracked the cold case open, PC Reeve only had one photo of Sarjit to go off of - a blurry photocopy in black-and-white.

"It was terrible quality," PC Reeve recalled. "It was really grainy, and looked nothing like her. But it was the image we had and there was little we could do to retrieve new photos as this was going back to the 70s."

It was until December the following year in 2024 that the police officer was able to get a clearer photo of Sarjit from her nephew, who was just six years old at the time of Sarjit’s disappearance.

"By putting this enhanced photo out, we are hoping someone who recognises Sarjit will trigger old memories in people who knew her," he explained, adding that Sarjit’s two brothers 'are still looking for closure and miss their sister enormously'.

"Sarjit’s case has remained unsolved for nearly 50 years and one of my main goals is to make as many people aware of it as possible," PC Reeve concluded. "This is one of West Midlands Police’s longest unsolved cases and, while we don’t know what happened to Sarjit, she deserves to have people looking for her.

"My aim is to bring that closure to her remaining family."