West Midlands Police are reopening the book on one of their longest unsolved mysteries. Maria...

Published: 1:44 am October 20, 2025
Updated: 6:35 pm February 3, 2026

West Midlands Police are reopening the book on one of their longest unsolved mysteries. Maria Aldridge vanished in 1968. Today would have been her 75th birthday.

Last Seen in Birmingham Training as Nurse

Maria was just 17 when she disappeared between February and June 1968. She was training as a nurse at Dudley Road Hospital and lived near Birmingham.

Since then, Maria’s fate has remained a mystery. The Cold Case team is still hunting clues.

Mysterious Visitor to Family Home

Officers want to identify a man known only as Paul or Michael Gough, who showed up at Maria’s family home in Stourbridge in May 1968 bearing flowers. The visitor’s identity is still unknown.

Police believe Maria may have either left the area or possibly even the country to start fresh.

Police Urge Public Help

Maria had ties in both Stourbridge and Birmingham, but detectives aren’t ruling out she moved elsewhere in the UK or abroad.

If you have any information, contact West Midlands Police on 101 quoting PID number 102618. This could finally crack a decades-old mystery!

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