evidence to link them with the missing girl.
Priscilla's father, David Trevelyan, 37 was also questioned after neighbors mentioned constant rows between the two. 'They didn't get on,' said one. 'He was worried about her truanting.' Police denied that Trevelyan was a suspect. 'Parents are always questioned in these circumstances,' said a spokesman, 'but we are satisfied Mr. and Mrs. Trevelyan know nothing of their daughter's disappearance.'
He admitted that the authorities are baffled. 'Several sightings of a girl matching Cill's description have come to nothing, and we are no further forward. After leaving her house she appears to have vanished.' They have made a fresh appeal to the public by issuing a series of photographs of the girl in the hope of jogging memories.
Bournemouth Evening News-Saturday, July 25, 1970
MOTHER'S ANGUISH OVER MISSING TEEN
It's just two months since 13-year-old Priscilla Trevelyan left home after an argument with her father, yet her file has been shelved and the team looking into her disappearance disbanded. In simple terms, a runaway does not command the same level of police attention as a child who's been abducted, and Priscilla has joined the frightening statistic of 75,000 children under 16 who run away from homes or institutions in this country every year.
While most of these children return after one night away, some 1,000 will still be missing months later. They are in danger of physical and sexual assault, and many of them resort to crime and prostitution to stay alive. 'Cases like these are always difficult,' said PC Gary Prentice, who holds a watching brief over Priscilla's file. 'If a runaway doesn't want to be found, there's little the police can do. We've circulated her photograph to other forces and we hope someone will recognize her. Many children return home at Christmas when memories of family are strong. I hope this happens in Cill's case.'
Priscilla's mother, Jean Trevelyan, is heartbroken. She acknowledges that trouble at home was a contributory factor but she insists it's out of character for her daughter not to have telephoned. 'The police say there's no evidence of abduction, but little girls don't vanish into thin air. I wish I'd never mentioned the row with her father. He was trying to support the school's punishment, but it gave the police an excuse to stop looking for her.'
PC Prentice denies this. 'We pursued every lead we were given. Sadly, Cill was a disturbed adolescent with complications at home and at school. She'd been truanting for some time before she decided to ran away. There's always concern when a 13-year-old goes missing, but we're optimistic that Cill is bright enough to survive. Her friends described her as 'street-smart,' which is an American expression she taught them after reading it in a magazine. She used it to describe herself.'
Jean Trevelyan remembers it differently. 'Cill was always in trouble. People expected her to behave responsibly because she was well-developed for her age, but at heart she was like any other 13-year-old. One of her friends told the police she was gang raped before she ran away, but they were less interested in that than they were in the argument she had with her father.'
PC Prentice admits the rape allegation but says there was no evidence to support it. 'If it happened, then it's tragic that Cill was too ashamed to tell anyone about it.' He agreed that the stigma of rape is a disincentive to reporting it. 'Police forces are working on ways to encourage women and girls to come forward,' he said, 'but there's still a long way to go.'
This is no consolation for Jean Trevelyan who sits by her window, praying for Priscilla to come home. 'We've lost more than our daughter,' she weeps, 'we've lost our good name. People say we were unkind, but she was our only child and we wanted the best for her. The police claim to be sympathetic, but they've never once portrayed us as loving parents.'
The photographs of Priscilla that line the room endorse Jean's love for her daughter, but she admits they've only been on display since Priscilla vanished. Like so many mothers, she found the balance between disciplining an errant adolescent and continuing to show love a difficult one. 'We were strict because we worried about her, but we didn't know what worry was until she left. David is devastated by it all. It's a terrible way to learn that the time to show your child affection is when you're most angry. We disciplined her because we loved her, yet she must have believed it was done out of hate or she wouldn't have run away.'
Her greatest anguish is that Priscilla felt unable to tell anyone she'd been raped. 'Her friend said she thought people would say it was her fault because she was wearing a miniskirt, but we live in a terrible society if a 13- year-old thinks she'll be blamed for what happens to her. The police have cast doubt on the rape, but I know it happened because Cill threw her skirt away. She saved up for it and it was her favorite. She wouldn't have done that if she had nothing to feel ashamed about.'
One is left with a sense of enormous tragedy. A grieving mother, indefinitely confined to her house for fear her daughter comes back to find no one at home. A father crippled by guilt because he upheld a school punishment. A house empty of laughter. A child missing because there was no one she could ask for help. -
SPICER & HARDY
AUTHOR'S AGENTS 25 BLUINDELL STREET LONDON W4 9TP
Cllr. George Gardener
25 Mullin Street
Highdown
Bournemouth
DORSET BH15 6VX
Monday, April 7, 2003
Dear George Gardener,
Thank you for your letter of April 2, and your kind wishes for Jonathan's recovery. Prior to your meeting he had been suffering for some time from severe stomach cramps and nausea which he foolishly put down to stress and overwork when the problem was a bleeding ulcer. His trip to the U.S. only exacerbated the problem and he developed complications on the day he visited you. Fortunately, it was caught in time and he's now well on the road to recovery. No thanks to him! I am telling you this because he won't tell you himself as he feels there are no excuses for his behavior. My own view, as I understand from Sergeant Lovatt that you are not well yourself, is that it was a clash of illnesses and is best forgotten. May I return the compliment you paid Jon, and send you my good wishes for
I enclose a letter from Jonathan re: Priscilla Fletcher/Cill Trevelyan. However, I wish to stress: (a) his willingness to be involved in your project; and (b) the expertise he can bring to it. Jon has many strong points but self-promotion isn't one of them. When he tries, he sounds patronizing. When he doesn't, he looks smug. Both traits are deeply infuriating, but they're easier to ignore if you view them as a disability.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Spicer
Enc.
DR. JONATHAN HUGHES
