London's Oldest MISSING PERSONS Case... and She Might Still Be Alive

London's Oldest MISSING PERSONS Case... and She Might Still Be Alive

From Mysteries and Histories by Georgia Marie

June 12, 2026 · 20 min

About this episode

The episode explores the mysterious disappearance of 16-year-old Mary Flanagan, who vanished on New Year’s Eve in 1959, making it Britain's longest-running missing person case.

On a foggy New Year’s Eve in 1959, 16‑year‑old Mary Flanagan waved goodbye to her family in West Ham, supposedly heading to a work party at the Tate & Lyle sugar factory and then vanished into the London night. No body, no confirmed sightings, and even her original police files lost to time have left her disappearance frozen in place as Britain’s longest‑running missing person case, an open question that has haunted her siblings and the Metropolitan Police for more than six decades.

People in this episode

Host: Georgia Marie

Topics covered

  • missing persons
  • true crime
  • historical cases
  • London history
  • unsolved mysteries

Keywords

  • Mary Flanagan
  • missing person
  • London
  • true crime
  • Metropolitan Police
  • 1959
  • unsolved case

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tate & Lyle, Metropolitan Police

Places: West Ham

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