Nationality British | Name Disappearance Genette | |
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Full Name Genette Louise Tate Disappeared 19 August 1978 (age 13)
Aylesbeare, Devon, England Status Missing for 37 years, 4 months and 17 days Residence Aylesbeare, Devon, England | ||
Genette Louise Tate (5 May 1965 – disappeared 19 August 1978) is an English girl whose disappearance became a missing person case when she went missing at age 13 while delivering newspapers in Aylesbeare, Devon, England.
Background
Tate's disappearance occurred within sight of her home village shortly after 15:30 (BST) on Saturday 19 August 1978. Her bicycle and scattered newspapers were found lying in the middle of a quiet country lane by two friends with whom she had spoken minutes earlier. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a maroon Triumph (or vehicle of very similar visual appearance) in the lane at around the time of the disappearance, and police issued a photofit picture of a man they wanted to question in relation to the abduction. This individual was described as being a "very handsome man" in his early 20s with a pale complexion, short dark hair, who had been wearing a light-coloured shirt.
Despite an extensive police investigation and a search of the surrounding countryside involving thousands of volunteers, Tate's disappearance remains unexplained. In 2002, DNA belonging to Genette Tate was found on one of her jumpers kept by her mother, which would allow her body to be identified if discovered. On the 25th anniversary of the case in 2003, Genette's parents John and Sheila both stated their belief that she is no longer alive. Police have amassed more than 20,000 cards in a filing system related to the case, which is stored at the Devon and Cornwall Police headquarters in Exeter.
Following the conviction of serial killer Robert Black in October 2011 for the August 1981 murder of Jennifer Cardy, a spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland commented that "There are striking similarities" between the two cases. Black had already been questioned by Devon and Cornwall Police about the Tate case, but in August 2008 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided that there was insufficient evidence to charge him. Devon and Cornwall Police were looking into the case again in June 2014 with the hope of prosecuting Black.
At the time of Black's death in January 2016, Devon and Cornwall Police were five weeks from submitting a file to the CPS in which they sought a new decision on whether to prosecute him. The file was submitted to the CPS three months after Black's January 2016 death, although the CPS stated that due to his death, they would not be making a posthumous decision on charging Black.