New search in Isabella Skelton case rules out key site
It was an unusual sight: teams slowly moving a device resembling a lawnmower over a plot of concrete, over and over again.
Over two days in the summer of 2025, this is what might have encountered anyone passing by the plot that backs on to Lidiard Street in Crumpsall, Manchester.
Ground penetrating radar equipment used in the search for Isabella Skelton
The teams, co-ordinated by Locate International, were there at the request of Lynda Chapman, 71. In 1969, Lynda’s mother, Isabella Skelton, disappeared from her home in Lidiard Street, and was never seen again.
Isabella, a mother of three, was 35 when she was last seen either late on Thursday 5 June 1969 or early on Friday, 6 June. She had moved from Glasgow in the early 1960s and at the time of her disappearance, Isabella, a trainedtypist, was employed atBall Bearings Servicesand had previously worked atAtlas Expressand Gallagher Cigarettes.
Isabella ‘Izzy’ Skelton
Pictured around the time of her disappearance
The new search was carried out by specialist forensic geoscience and archaeology staff and Master's students from the University of Lancashire and Keele University, providing expertise in search strategy, landscape analysis, evidence recovery, and archaeological investigation.
Their work in Crumpsall will feature in a forthcoming series of the BBC podcast The Forgotten Dead, the broadcast date of which is not yet known.
They began by clearing tons of material to allow for a full scan of the site, and went on to map a patch of concrete that used to house sheds and garages, using ground-penetrating radar. The signals picked up by GPR were then analysed by staff and students, and an anomaly warranting further investigation was found under the concrete. Teams visited the site again this Spring to drill into the concrete and conduct tests, but most anomalies were found to be caused by air gaps beneath the concrete cap.
The search was conducted with the knowledge of Greater Manchester Police, but did not involve their staff.
Police also conducted a search at Isabella’s last known address in Lidiard Street in early 2021, but this was not conclusive.
“It was hard being down there, I will say - it was an emotional thing: ‘Will there be something, won’t there be something?’” said Lynda, who visited the site every day alongside the volunteers. “But now I’m not wondering about this site any more, at least I know I can rule it out.
Lynda Chapman (Isabella Skelton’s daughter)
“I’m one of these people who will keep fighting for answers until I get there. While I’m breathing, I’m going to keep going. My mum deserves it - she was a lovely person.”
Dave Grimstead, the co-founder of Locate International and theauthor of the book Someone Must Know, released on 11 June, attended the first day of the search in July 2025. He said: “We are very proud to have been able to support Lynda in her search for answers, and will continue to do so however we can.
“While our work on this site did not bring up the results that had been hoped for, it’s important to have been able to rule out this site and keep the investigation moving. Lynda deserves answers as to what happened to her mum, so we would urge anyone with information - however small or insignificant it may seem - to come forward.”