Alexander Sloley (born 4 August 1991) was a British boy who disappeared without a trace on 2 August 2008 in Edmonton, north London, England, when he was 16.[1] No evidence of his fate has been found,[2] and his current whereabouts remain unknown.
Alex Sloley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alexander Sloley 4 August 1991 |
| Disappeared | 2 August 2008 (aged 16) Islington, London, England |
| Status | Missing for 16 years, 3 months and 20 days |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Accountancy student |
Background
editSloley went by the nickname "Gog".[3] He had studied at the Islington Arts and Media School in north London and was attending City and Islington College.[4]
Sloley disappeared two days before his 17th birthday.[5][1] Sloley was described as someone who dressed smartly and was not scruffy.[6] He liked football and eating traditional West Indian food such as fried plantain, dumplings and porridge.[7]
His parents were separated, and he had three sisters: Tasha, Tazrah and Lattina.[8] Sloley's father, Christopher, died in 2014 without learning of his son's fate.[7]
Disappearance
editSloley had been staying at a friend's house in Edmonton, north London. He left there around noon on 2 August 2008 to return home for his birthday, but never arrived.[8] When he disappeared he had little money and no change of clothes.[1] Sloley did not have his passport with him.[7] Sloley had a mobile phone with him but it stopped connecting when he went missing.[7] His disappearance was uncharacteristic.[2]
Police found nothing to indicate where Sloley may have gone.[3] "It's like he disappeared off the face of the planet," one officer said in 2012.[4] No trace of Sloley was ever recovered from CCTV footage.[2]
Subsequent investigation
editIn September 2009 a possible sighting was reported in Ilford, east London, but has never been confirmed.[3] In October 2009 the charity Missing People and supermarket Iceland arranged for Sloley's story and photo to appear on milk cartons.[3] Sloley's was one of the first cases to be publicised in such a manner, and he was featured on nearly 13.5 million milk cartons.[9]
In July 2015, Sloley's mother Nerissa Tivy was surprised to learn that police had received numerous reports of sightings in 2009. Tivy stated that she had met with police a number of times and they had never told her about this list.[10]
In September 2017 Mick Neville, retired head of the Metropolitan Police's Central Images Unit, drew comparisons between Sloley's disappearance and that of another bright maths student who disappeared without a trace in London.[11] Andrew Gosden was 14 when he disappeared in 2007, less than a year before Sloley.[11] Gosden's last known location was King's Cross, and when Sloley disappeared he was thought to have been on his way to Islington, which is two miles from King's Cross.[11] "It raises the question on whether there is a serial killer on the prowl? ...the potential links between these cases need to be recognised," said Neville.[11]
In September 2019, the Metropolitan Police released an updated e-fit depicting Sloley as he may have looked at that time.[6] It was reported that there had been no use of Sloley's national insurance, bank account or passport in the intervening 11 years.[6][7] Detective Constable Tom Boom of the Missing Persons Unit stated that there was no evidence of harm but the case had gone cold and there were no major leads.[7]
Media
editIn 2023 in August he was the subject of a three episode podcast Where is Alex? and in November he featured in episode 4 of Vanished series 2.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Hodgkin, Emily (11 September 2015). "Police search for teen missing from Finsbury Park for seven years". Islington Gazette. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
- ^ a b c "Renewed appeal into disappearance of teenager". Mynewsdesk. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d Gruner, Peter (25 September 2009). "Islington News: Alexander Sloley". thecnj.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ a b Couvée, Koos (30 June 2017). "'Someone, somewhere knows something about missing Alex'". Camden New Journal. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "Help us find Alexander Sloley". missingpeople.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ a b c "New e-fit of missing teen issued 11 years on". bbc.com. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Finch, Emily (20 September 2019). "A decade on, mum's plea to find missing Alex". Camden New Journal. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Alexander Sloley's mother hopes to stage event highlighting plight of missing children". Islington Tribune. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ Randall, David (11 October 2009). "The missing: Each year, 275,000 Britons disappear". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ Cooper, Joe (25 September 2015). "Holloway mum's fury after learning of 10 sightings of her missing teenage son". Islington Tribune. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d McMahon, James (30 August 2018). "The Strange Disappearance of Andrew Gosden". Vice. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.