Fresh investigation launched into disappearance of Malgorzata Wnuczek
The 27 year old went missing from Leicester more than 17 years ago.
Detectives have launched a new appeal for information about the whereabouts of a woman who went missing from Leicester more than 17 years ago.
Malgorzata Wnuczek was last seen catching a bus from Peter Jackson Logistics, where she worked, into Leicester City centre on 31st May 2006.
The last contact she had with her family, who affectionally referred to her as Gosia, was via text message on 29 May 2006.
Despite a reappeal from both her loved ones and police in 2016 – 10 years on from when she was last seen – her whereabouts remain unknown.
Officers from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) have been working with policing colleagues in Poland and today (Tuesday 6 June), specialist teams are carrying out a search of the River Soar, around the area of the Mill Lane bridge.
A 39-year-old man has also been arrested in the Greater Manchester area on suspicion of assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice.
Detectives think there may be people within Leicester’s Polish community who know what happened to her.
Detective Inspector Jenni Heggs, from EMSOU, is the senior investigating officer. She said: “Malgorzata was 27 when she was last seen. Two days ago it was her 44th birthday.
“Officers both in the UK and in Poland have remained in contact with her family since she was last seen. Following information provided to us by our Polish colleagues, we are carrying out a search of the River Soar in the hope we might find something that can help us to establish Malgorzata’s whereabouts.
“Since the investigation began, more than 2,000 potential witnesses have raised more than 2,500 lines of enquiry, with more than 100 statements taken. But we still do not know where Malgorzata is or what might’ve happened to her.
“However, I firmly believe there are people out there who do. For more than 17 years, her family have lived their lives in darkness and we owe it to them to answer the questions they have.
“I’m making a direct appeal to the people of Leicester – and in particular our Polish community – to come forward if they have any information that could help. You might think what you know is insignificant, but it might just be something that leads us to Malgorzata.
“What have you heard? What do you know? Any details you’re able to provide could be of great importance.”