How tragic mum's disappearance exploded into huge manhunt with fears NEW unknown serial killer was prowling UK streets

Scottish Sun

11-06-2025

KEY CLUE How tragic mum's disappearance exploded into huge manhunt with fears NEW unknown serial killer was prowling UK streets
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QUESTIONS are still being asked more than two decades after a mum mysteriously vanished without a trace.
Sex worker Kellie Pratt, from Norwich, went missing in June 2000 when she was 28 years old after moving to the Norfolk city from Newcastle to be closer to her mum.
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Kellie Pratt mysteriously vanished in 2000
Credit: NCJMedia
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She was last seen outside The Rose pub
Credit: NCJMedia
The mum of two sons was last seen outside The Rose pub in Queens Road.
A quarter of a century on, Norfolk Constabulary's cold case manager Andy Guy is convinced that some Brits roaming the streets have answers to his questions.
He told the Chronicle: "It has been 25 years now since Kellie went missing from the streets of Norwich and this very much remains an open and active case.
"Time has passed, but we continue to work on this case and follow up lines of inquiry to find who is responsible and to bring them to justice.
"I believe the answer to her disappearance lies within the people she knew in Norwich, and it is those people I would ask to examine their consciences and to come forward and speak to us.
'There are rumours circulating about what happened to Kellie, but in order to resolve this investigation those with first-hand information would need to do the right thing.
"After 25 years, people's circumstances will have changed and I hope this milestone will be enough to encourage individuals with relevant information to have the courage to come forward.'
Kellie was called on her Nokia 6100 at 11.30pm - within about 10 minutes of being seen outside the pub - and said she was with "a punter".
Cops tracked down and questioned the individual who made the final call to Kellie but the person she was with that night remains a mystery.
"The person she was with that night may or may not be responsible but if he wasn't we would still want to hear from them," Andy revealed.
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Interestingly, on March 29, 2002, another sex worker, 22-year-old Michelle Bettles, disappeared from the Norwich red light district, prompting fears there could be a serial killer at large in the city.
Michelle's body was found 48 hours later but her killer has never been caught.
And in 2006, a string of three murders of women working in the city's red light district shook the nation.
It was later revealed that a ripper-style murderer was thought to be targeting prostitutes in the Ipswich area, just 40 miles from the pub where Kellie was last seen.
Cops in Norfolk teamed up with Suffolk Constabulary as the force probed the death of Gemma Adams, 25, and the disappearance of her missing friend Tania Nichol, 19.
Steve Wright, dubbed the Suffolk Strangler, was eventually jailed for the murders of five women, including Paula Clennell, who was originally from Northumberland, but no links with Kellie were found.
In 2005, five years after Kellie's disappeared, officers said they weren't holding out hope that the missing person would be found.
A spokesman said: 'Despite extensive enquiries, it is still unclear what happened to Kellie, although police and her family have for some time feared the worst.
"Work has been ongoing since Kellie disappeared five years ago.
"Last month, officers carried out inquiries into whether advances in phone technology could offer any new opportunities for investigation but unfortunately, it was established that this was not the case."
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Cops continue to try and find answers a quarter of a century after she disappeared
Credit: NCJMedia