Resident offers reward for information on missing Kentish Town mum
Missing Lana Purcell - Credit: Archant
The search for a young woman missing for more than four years has taken a desperate turn after a reward of £5,000 was put up for information.
Lana Purcell, a former pupil of Parliament Hill School and a Kentish Town resident, vanished without warning in January 2011 and hasn’t been seen since.
Aged just 26 at the time, and leaving behind her young daughter and more than £1,000 in her bank account, her disappearance has baffled her family and detectives.
Her family fears she may have been mixed up in a criminal world after getting involved in drugs.
Rumours also spread among those who knew her, claiming she may have been “taken” after stealing from criminal gangs.
It was not until more than two years after her disappearance that the police started treating the case as a serious crime.
Just over a year ago the Met gave its strongest indication yet that something fatal may have happened after murder detectives took over the case.
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But since then, police appear to be no closer to finding out what has happened – saying enquiries are “ongoing”.
This week, a Highgate resident and former friend of Ms Purcell contacted the Ham&High to say he is putting up a reward for any new information that provides an indication as to what happened.
The man, who did not want to be named but who has placed the money in a named bank account, said: “Somebody needs to do something. Lana was a breath of fresh air in a horrible hell of an environment, full of drug dealers, thieves and pimps.
“I hope this money will start a chain reaction of people coming forward with new information. I believe someone out there knows what’s happened, and they need to come forward. Some have already heard the rumours but I’m hoping for information that is new and that will help the police in their investigation.”
Anyone with information to share on Ms Purcell can email the resident offering the reward at helpfindlana@gmail.com, contact the police on 020 8358 0400, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
