Missing Investigative Support
Fatima Mohamed-Ali
Long-Term Missing Person
Review Completed (subject to ongoing reviews)
Sussex Police
12th February 2016 (aged 52)
Avis Road, Newhaven (a 15-minute walk from her home address).
Approx. 07:55
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Case Status:
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Date of Disappearance:
Last Sighting:
Time of Last Sighting:
Family:
Married for 35 years to Mohamed after they met in their home country of Tanzania. They have three children and two grandchildren. The children each live in different parts of the country and maintain a close relationship with Fatima and Mohamed.
Other Factors:
Fatima suffered with undiagnosed OCD, related to cleanliness. She was a homely person, with minimal social acquaintances but had somewhat regular routines, such as attending Mosque, getting her hair done, and visiting with family in Brighton. Fatima is a devout Muslim who enjoyed going to Mosque and teaching her children the way of Allah.
Date of Disappearance and Activities
Fatima woke early and sent a religious greeting to her contacts on Whatsapp. This is normal for Fatima and part of her usual Friday activities, with Friday prayers being important in Islam. Fatima helped Mohamed get ready for work and told him that she would be staying at home to do prayers and household chores. Mohamed left the house at 07:30 for work and said he would return at 13:30. When Mohamed left the house, Fatima was reportedly her usual self and in her household cleaning clothes, which are visible in the below picture. Mohamed noted that these clothes would only be worn by Fatima in the house, and not something she would normally wear outside.
However, almost immediately after Mohamed left, Fatima also left the house. She can be seen on CCTV walking at some pace towards Newhaven town centre. There is a later sighting of Fatima in the middle of the road, waiting for cars to cross. She was thought to be heading in the direction of the nature reserve and Newhaven town centre. Fatima has not been seen again.
All her belongings – phone, passport, money – were left in the house. Ordinarily, she didn’t leave the house alone or without her car. She seemed to be in normal spirits, with no evidence of suicidal ideation or any deviation in her normal self. Many searches were undertaken by the police following her disappearance, but there were no further sightings or evidence of Fatima.
The police have undertaken significant searches around Fatima’s local area in the hope of locating her, or evidence of her whereabouts. These were unsuccessful. There is an unconfirmed sighting of Fatima in Brighton on 7th August, 2017. The image is unclear, and the police were unable to confirm this to be Fatima.
I began working with Mohamed in 2020 and have completed an independent review of Fatima’s disappearance with all information available at the time. We will continue to review any new information should it become available.
