A father has made a renewed plea for information about his daughter who vanished 23 years ago, saying he wants answers before his time is up. Natalie Putt was 17 when she disappeared from her home in Dudley, West Midlands, on September 1, 2003, leaving behind her 11-week-old son. She told relatives she was 'just popping to the shops' but never returned.
Decades of searching yield no body
Despite extensive searches of lakes, graveyards, and woodland near her home, Natalie's body has never been found. An inquest in 2019 concluded she most likely died on the day she was last seen. Her father, David Putt, now 69, has released family photographs in hopes that someone will come forward with information.
Natalie would have celebrated her 40th birthday this year. David said: 'It's been 23 years since Nat went missing, which is a very long time, and this year would have been her 40th birthday. Somebody out there knows something, and I want to ask them to please come forward and contact the police.'
'I want to know before my time is up'
David, who turns 70 next year, said: 'I don't care how big or small the information may be; the family needs to know what happened to her. I will be 70 next year, and I want to know what happened to her before my time is up.' He urged the public to recall events around September 1, 2003, saying: 'Please try to set your mind back to 1 September 2003 and get in touch if you saw anything that could help the officers looking into my daughter's disappearance.'
He also referenced the 2019 inquest: 'On January 15, 2019, the coroner pronounced Natalie deceased and her cause of death as unascertained, but we still have so many unanswered questions. Please, please help me and the family finally be able to mourn her properly with our questions around what happened to her answered.'
Police continue to seek clues
Detective Inspector Jim Church, from West Midlands Police homicide review team, said: 'It's now been 23 years since Natalie went missing and we're still working to get David and her family answers.' He noted that Natalie's bank account has remained untouched since her disappearance, and she took no possessions. 'She was a new mum who loved her son and would never have left him or left her family without reason.'
An 18-year-old local man was arrested in March 2004 in connection with the case but released without charge. Underwater search teams trawled rivers and lakes, private land in Wombourne, Staffs., was searched, and forensic experts examined Natalie's former home. In June 2017, several graves in a Gornal cemetery were examined without exhuming remains; nothing was found, and graves were resealed.
Det Insp Church appealed: 'I want to appeal to anyone who has any information or saw something that raised their suspicions around that time in the Dudley area or who may have seen Natalie on that day or the ones following. Even if you think it's not relevant, your information could be what we need to put the pieces together.'
Anyone with information can contact police on 101, via Live Chat on the force website, or through the missing persons' charity on 116 000.
