Police have made a direct appeal to those involved in the murder of a teenager to finally bring her family closure, exactly 30 years after she disappeared.
Lindsay Rimer, 13, went out to buy a box of corn flakes late in the evening on 7 November 1994 and never returned home. Her body was found in a canal close to her home six months later.
Lindsay’s family have also marked this year’s anniversary with a renewed appeal for information from the public, particularly in the town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire where Lindsay lived and died.
“This person should be in prison, not us because that’s where we feel we’ve been for the last 30 years,” her sister Kate Rimer told Sky News.
Juliet Rimer was just one when her sister was killed but has recently been reading letters and diaries to gain a better understanding of a life cut short.
“It’s just, it’s a bit of a horror film that we have to do this,” she said. “The fact that I had a sister that I never knew who was murdered, I just can’t wrap my head around that. It’s had a massive impact on me.”
Kate, who played the part of her sister in a police reconstruction a year after her disappearance, says the family believes someone has information that could lead to her killer’s arrest.
“It’s usually been my mum who does this but the emotional toll it’s taken on my parents means that they just can’t do this anymore.
“It’s incredibly emotional, it opens everything up, and it reflects back over 30 years ago and everything that we lived through then. And just the horror of a loved family member, a child being murdered, is a really bizarre situation. You live your normal life around that and then we’re opening up again to bring murder and death back into our family.”
In the years since Lindsay’s disappearance, police have spoken to more than 5,000 people and examined 1,200 vehicles. Two men were arrested and later released.
A new sighting of Lindsay after she left the convenience shop on the night she disappeared has been confirmed and police believe those in the community have vital information.
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Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle of West Yorkshire Police made a direct appeal to those who were involved in killing and disposing of her body.
“Has this been on your conscience for thirty years?” he said.
“It’s perfectly possible there’s more than one person involved, its perfectly possible there’s a vehicle involved. Maybe you didn’t murder Lindsay but you know exactly who did because you were there and that’s sat on your conscience for 30 years.
“Now is the time to come and talk to us, now is the time to draw a line under this and bring that closure for Lindsay’s family.”
New posters featuring Lindsay’s picture have gone up around Hebden Bridge as part of the appeal for information and an increased police presence will be in the town.
Juliet said: “It has been 30 years but Lindsey didn’t deserve this and we owe it to her as her family to keep doing this.”
