The family of missing Coventry mum Nicola Payne have made a huge announcement on what is her 52nd birthday. They have, for 33 years, led the desperate hunt to find the missing mum.
She disappeared in broad daylight back in 1991 and, more than three decades later, her heartbroken family are still unable to say a final goodbye and lay her to rest. But, on what is Nicola’s birthday today (January 9) they have taken the decision to close their social media page asking for help to find her.
But while the Facebook page is closing, the family is still appealing for anyone with any information to contact police. At the end of last year, Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards, who heads up the investigation, said he remains convinced someone in the city knows what happened to the 18-year-old.
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The final post on the ‘Find Nicola Payne’ page on Facebook reads: “Nicola’s family would like to thank everyone that has supported us through this page – it never fails to amaze us the strength that it provides us.
“Since the passing of Nicola’s mum Maz in 2023, we have suffered immensely as a family, however we know they are finally reunited and that does bring us some comfort.
“We have decided for many reasons that as of 9/1/2025 which is Nicola’s birthday, we will close this page permanently. Therefore if anyone wishes to contact the family they can do until that date, if not then please contact Crimestoppers or West Midlands Police – this case remains open.”
‘Thank you for never forgetting out beautiful ‘Cov kid’ Nikki’
It concludes: “We remain in quiet hope that one day we will find Nicola’s remains and lay her to rest in eternal peace. Thank you for never forgetting out beautiful ‘Cov kid’ Nikki.
“The Payne family x.”
There was fresh hope that the family may be able to find Nicola when a new docu-series ‘The Never Ending Murder’ hit TV screens. This, one of Nicola’s brother’s Nigel said, unearthed ‘a lot of new questions that need answers’.
Sadly, those answers have still yet to come. In the series, Martin Sleven, who led the Nicola Payne investigation, said he was convinced she is buried ‘somewhere’ in Coombe Country Park.
He hinted that police are waiting on intelligence to search different parts of the park. But CoventryLive contacted West Midlands Police and we were told that there are currently ‘no new lines of enquiry’ to pursue.
However, Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards said: “We still believe there maybe people out there who hold information about what happened in 1991 and I urge anyone who has not previously contacted us with information to contact us. It could make all the difference and could finally bring Nicola’s family the closure they deserve.”
Anyone with information about Nicola’s disappearance can contact West Midlands Police on 101.