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A devoted sister has told of her heartbreaking search for her elder sibling who went missing 46 years ago in the hope that Midlanders can help reveal her whereabouts.

Cathy Phillips has relived her anguish in the lead up to Maria Aldridge’s 63rd birthday.

Maria was 17 when she disappeared without a trace while working as a student nurse in Birmingham.

Latest figures have revealed that there are currently 136 British children who are missing – six of these are from Birmingham.

Cathy, who lives in Canada, said: “I need to connect with people in the Midlands. I hope they can help me to find Maria.”

Back in 1968 the mysterious message almost went unnoticed.

It read: “NURSE M – Meet 7p.m. 63 bus, Monday, June 3rd. Hope to see you, Simon”.

But detectives spotted it among the personal ads running in the Birmingham Mail in 1968.

And it became a sign of hope for the family of Maria Aldrige, a 17 year-old student nurse who went missing while training at Birmingham’s Dudley Road Hospital (now known as City Hospital) 46 years ago.

Police believed it was a clue that could lead to them to the whereabouts of the young woman.

Another lead was a man, believed to be called Paul Gough, who travelled to Maria’s family home in Stourport, Worcestershire, to tell her mum Mary O’Sullivan that she had disappeared.

Mary and Maria’s younger sister Cathy Phillips then went to the hospital dormitory in search of her.

But the resident matron told them she was no longer there and handed them all her belongings.

Paul Gough hasn’t been seen by the family – or police – since.

Mary spent the rest of her life looking for Maria.

She even reported to disappearance to police on the Fred and Rose West inquiry in the 1990s.

But checks against the grisly remains discovered below the patio and in the cellar at 27 Cromwell Street in Gloucester drew a blank.

Mary died in 2005 aged 93.

Cathy is still searching.







“I have had a wonderful life but there has always been part of me missing,” said Cathy, now a 61 year-old mum of five, who lives in Ontario, Canada.

“I will never give up looking for Maria.

“I need to connect with people in Birmingham and I hope they can share her information so that I can find the man who came to my house and told us Maria was not at the hospital.

“He had come to see if she was at the family home. She wasn’t. She was considered a runaway and it was expected she would show up. We are still waiting.

“Police did find a Mr Gough in the recent review of the case, but unfortunately this was not the correct Mr Gough that notified my mom and us of her disappearance.

“He (Micheal) did not know Maria. Please help me find Mr Gough. It may be Paul.”

Four years ago Cathy visited a hospital in Canada where Maria had lived during her nurse training.

In a poignant photograph she is pictured outside the room where she had slept which was then decorated by a pink flower plant and was being used as a doctor’s office.

Cathy recently posted a message to Maria, hoping that her sister may also use the social networking site and saying: “Today would have been my 44th wedding anniversary and who would have thought that I’d be here thinking about you.

“You disappeared in May 1968 and were not at my wedding nine months later. You have missed so many milestones. Thinking of you and missing you always.”

Police reopened Maria’s case in 2009 following a review of an inquiry into a headless female body found in Norfolk and checks were made against her name.

Details were passed to detectives at Rose Road police station in Harborne.

They discovered a letter from Maria to her mother dated February 28, 1968 in which she wrote of her experiences in Birmingham, including nights out at the old Locarno nightclub, then in Hurst Street, in the city centre.

In the letter she also referred to a number of friends, including two believed to be student nurses, called Sue and Evelyn, and others named Dave Olfrey, Patrick McGill, Christopher Fair and Jim Taylor.

But all leads failed to find Maria.

Detective Sergeant Stewart Nicol, from West Midlands Police, said: “Our missing person file on Maria Aldridge remains open and we would welcome any information on her whereabouts.

“Unfortunately, no new details came to light from the last appeal to trace Maria, but we hope she is still alive and, for whatever reason, she simply decided to leave the life she knew and begin afresh elsewhere.

“We remain keen to know she is safe and well, and if she would like to confirm this to us in confidence then she can do. Alternatively, if anybody else knows where Maria is, we would encourage them to call us on 101 or the Missing People charity.”