£15,000 Reward For Information About Missing Ealing Women

11 years on police renew appeals for help from the public

Police are offering up to £15,000 for information regarding the disappearance Elizabeth Chau and Lola Shenkoya who went missing in Ealing.

DI Andy Manning, Homicide and Serious Crime Command, in charge of the investigation said:

"It is 11 years since Lola went missing. Both Lola and Elizabeth went missing from the Ealing area and we would like to enlist the help of the public to see if we can get any nearer to finding out what has happened to these two young women, I am hopeful the offer of a reward will further encourage members of the public to come forward.''

19-year-old Elizabeth was a student who attended Thames Valley University in Ealing. At about 17:00hrs on Friday 16 April 1999 Elizabeth left college. She was seen by a friend in Ealing Broadway at 17.30hrs and then again walking past Ealing Police Station just after 18.00hrs. She has not been seen since.

Elizabeth is Vietnamese, 5'2" tall, slim, with brown shoulder length layered hair and brown eyes. She has a mole on her left temple. She was wearing a dark purple V neck jumper, a sleeveless black body warmer, jeans and brown ankle length boots. She was also wearing a silver 'Next' analogue watch and a gold necklace with a jade 'Buddha' and was carrying a small black shoulder bag and blue lever arch folder.

Extensive efforts made over the years have failed to trace Elizabeth. Police have not ruled out that she is still alive and well, but fear the worst.

Lola Shenkoya, 27, went missing from Ealing on Monday 3 January 2000. It's thought Lola returned home from Entertainment UK in Perivale where she worked as a temp, some time between 16:00 - 16:30hrs.

She was unable to gain entry to the address in Swyncombe Avenue W5 because her sister, who had the only key, was not at home. Eyewitness accounts suggest that Lola then caught an E2 bus from Northfield Avenue, outside Northfields Underground Station and travelled to Haven Green, where she got off the bus outside the Burger King which is near to Ealing Broadway Underground Station. Lola has not been seen since.

Lola is black, 5'5", slim with brown shoulder length hair. On the day she went missing, Lola was wearing a long black coat, grey scarf, a velvet blue hat, blue jeans and black patent leather shoes. Lola suffers with sickle cell anaemia and without medication can become very ill.

Since her disappearance, Lola's bank accounts have not been touched. Police are still anxious to build up a picture of Lola's lifestyle - they know that she regularly visited Internet cafes in the Ealing and South Kensington area, and would like to hear from people who know of other interests that Lola might have had. They say she was a very religious woman and was known to often talk to people on the street to convert them to the Christian faith. Lola's disappearance is totally out of character.

The disappearance of Elizabeth Chau and Lola Shenkoya are being linked for investigative purposes only. Both women have gone missing from the Ealing area and police say previous experience has shown the benefit of sharing expertise across similar investigations.

If there is anyone out there who knows what has happened to Elizabeth or Lola, then please contact police at the Incident Room on 0208 358 0300 ; if you wish to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The reward of up to £15,000 is for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person responsible for the disappearance of Elizabeth Chau and Lola Shenkoya.

Yewande Shenkoya, 27, Lola's sister, said: "I appreciate the efforts the police are making to establish what happened to my sister and I'm hopeful that someone will come forward with vital information".

Bic Kuet nee Chau, 35, Elizabeth's sister, said: "It has been 11 years since Liz went missing but we have never lost hope.

"There are many difficult times in the year such as birthdays, Christmas etc. when we get together as a family, Liz is in our minds at all times. Life goes on but some things don't, I haven't changed my phone number in 11yrs just in case Liz wants to get in touch. Deep down I think we all know that something horrible has happened to her but we just need to know what became of her.

"I hope the reward will galvanise someone who does know what happened to my sister to come forward. I would like to appeal to them to contact the police so that we can finally try to move on with our lives".

03 January 2011