Missing Mum Anne Simpson (60) was a devoted Mum of four, who went missing at 11.30pm on Sunday 26th September, 2004. Anne was living at a Caravan Park in Skegness when she disappeared. Anne and her long-term partner, Tom Rogers, had recently moved from Leicester to Skegness.That weekend, Anne and Tom were paid a visited by her daughter Josie, granddaughters Laura and Stephanie, plus her new great grandson, Kegan. The family had a wonderful weekend together - they went to the fun fair and walked on the beach.
After Anne waved her family off back to Leicester on the Sunday afternoon she went for a drink by herself in the local pub, The Bell Inn. The manager, Robert Day, recognised Anne that evening as she and her family had been in earlier during the day enjoying a drink together. Robert remembers that Anne was quite “wobbly” that evening – but did not see her leave.
Tom claims he heard Anne return to their caravan at around 8.30 pm and go to her room (they had separate bedrooms). Tom went to bed at 10:30pm, but around 30 minutes later heard the door on their caravan go and assumed Anne had gone out for some fresh air. He woke the next morning to find no sign of Anne, and her handbag and all her things still inside the caravan. After walking around their caravan park and checking everywhere Anne could possibly be on the site, Tom called Anne’s daughters and then called the Police.
A day later there was a full land and sea search co-ordinated by Lincolnshire Police and the Coastguard – the local area was combed, but there have been no further sightings.
Anne’s devoted daughters immediately travelled to Skegness with photos and leaflets and scoured the whole area for any signs of their Mum. Since then they have done all that they can to get more information about what happened. Yet, 5 years later, they are still no clearer in finding out where she is, and have even been to see psychics in the hope of discovering the truth. They say “not knowing” is tearing their family apart.
Jacqueline Grant (43) says her Mum’s disappearance has devastated their close knit family. Jacqui says her Mum was happy at the time she vanished. Jacqui is adamant that her Mum was enjoying life because her move to Skegness had given her a fresh start.
Jacqui believes something bad happened to her Mum. She says Anne was very close to Jenny’s daughter Aleesha. Jacqueline says “My Mum was so close to Aleesha, she would never miss her birthday. It was her birthday a couple of weeks after Mum went missing. We knew for certain then that something serious must have happened when Aleesha’s birthday came and went with no contact from Mum.”
Josie Grant (45) Josie was the first person Tom called when he alerted the family to Anne’s disappearance. Josie immediately drove to Skegness and began questioning locals and handing out leaflets. She was desperate to find information about what happened to her Mum. As Josie had spent the majority of that weekend with her Mum – she was puzzled by her disappearance. Josie doesn’t believe that Anne would abandon her family.
Tom Rogers (60) is Anne’s long term partner. The couple had been together for around 10 years at the time Anne disappeared. Tom says Anne was embracing their new life in Skegness. “She loved the fact that everything was right on our doorstep and the grandchildren enjoyed her taking them to the beach and the arcades.”
Tom says there were lots of different rumours when Anne went missing. Some people in the pub remembered she’d been seen speaking to a group of bikers in the pub that night – but police tracked them down and ruled them out. Others said they had seen someone fitting Anne’s description in Chapel St Leonard’s Play Area on that night. “But still we are no nearer to understanding what happened.”
