Amanda Dowler

Amanda Jane Dowler

June 25 1988 - March 21 2002

Age: 13 years old 

On 21 March 2002, Amanda was reported missing by her parents after failing to return home from school and not being seen since walking along Station Avenue in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, that afternoon. Following an extensive search for her, her remains were discovered in Yateley Heath Woods in Yateley, Hampshire, on 18 September.

On 23 June 2011, Levi Bellfield, who was already serving three life sentences for the murders of Marsha McDonnell and Amélie Delagrange and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, was found guilty of abducting and murdering  Amanda and was sentenced to an additional whole-life tariff. On 27 January 2016, Surrey Police announced that Bellfield had admitted to abducting, abusing and killing Dowler.

At 3:07pm on 21 March 2002, Amanda left Heathside School in Weybridge and walked to Weybridge railway station with a friend. The girls got off at Walton-on-Thames railway station, one stop before Dowler's usual stop of Hersham, and went to eat at the station cafe. After Amanda telephoned her father at 3:47 pm to say she would be home in half an hour, the girls left the cafe at 4:05, with Dowler walking home alone.

She was last seen three minutes later,walking along Station Avenue, by a friend of her sister, who was waiting at a bus stop.A closed-circuit television camera located further along the road showed no images of Dowler A red Daewoo Nexia, which belonged to Levi Bellfield's girlfriend Emma Mills, was photographed driving past by the same camera at 4:32 pm.In an April 2009 interview, Bellfield said that he was driving the car.

When Dowler failed to return home, she was reported missing to the police at 7:00 pm.A nationwide search for her followed, with 100 police officers and helicopters searching fields,streets and rivers around Hersham.

A week after Amanda Dowler's disappearance, the police stated that she was probably not taken by force. They reasoned that while she was unlikely to have gone off with someone she did not know of her own free will, no-one had come forward who had witnessed a struggle, despite a number of apparent sightings of her prior to her disappearance.

On 23 April 2002, the discovery of a body in the River Thames prompted media speculation that the remains might be those of Dowler, but the body was identified the following day as that of 73-year-old Maisie Thomas, who went missing in March 2001, and whose death was not believed to be suspicious. In June 2002, police told her parents that she was probably dead.

On 18 September 2002, nude human remains were discovered by mushroom pickers in Yateley Heath Woods near Yateley, Hampshire.They were later confirmed through dental records as Amanda's, due to the severity of the decomposition, the cause of death could not be ascertained.

Neither Amanda's clothes, nor any of the possessions—the purse, rucksack or mobile phone—she had with her at the time of her disappearance have ever been recovered. On 23 March 2003, DNA of an unidentified male was discovered on an item of Dowler's clothing in her bedroom, suggesting that her killer may have met her before. This link was ruled out within three months, at the same time that a DNA link to a church robbery in Sunderland was also ruled out.

Two months later, Bedfont Lake in west London was searched by police in hope of finding the car, but they recovered neither the car nor anything else of interest to their inquiry. The car has yet to be found

On 25 February 2008, Surrey Police confirmed that Levi Bellfield was their prime suspect in the murder inquiry and that they were "very interested" in questioning him.On 30 March 2010, Bellfield was charged with Dowler's abduction and murder.As a result, the inquest into the death was adjourned

On 6 October 2010, Bellfield appeared in court via video link, as he was already serving three life sentences for murder and attempted murder. He was formally charged with one count of attempted abduction, one count of abduction, one count of disposal of evidence,and one count of murder.

On 29 June 2017, Amanda's sister Gemma released a book dedicated to Amanda, titled My Sister Milly.