Divers trawl lake as police launch murder inquiry into father who vanished in 2013

Murder probe: Robert Duff pictured with his two daughters
Justin Davenport15 May 2018
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Police divers began searching a lake in a London park today, five years after the disappearance of a man who failed to turn up to celebrate his daughter’s 18th birthday.

Scotland Yard said it had launched a murder inquiry into the disappearance of Robert Duff, 41, after receiving “significant information” about what happened to him.

Father-of-two Mr Duff, of Kilburn, vanished without trace after missing a meal to celebrate his daughter Charlotte’s birthday on January 12, 2013.

His family have launched numerous appeals to trace him, spending more than £5,000 of their own money offering rewards for information.

Disappeared: Robert Duff failed to turn up at his daughter’s 18th birthday celebration

Homicide detectives said they believe he was attacked and murdered in a north London flat. It is feared his body could have been dumped in a lake in Waterlow Park, near Highgate Village.

Two men arrested yesterday on suspicion of murder were being interviewed at a police station today.

Mr Duff’s mother Helen said: “Although we have always suspected that he may have come to some harm, there has always been the hope that he would return to us one day.

“Since hearing that this is now a murder investigation, that hope has been taken away from us and, as a family, we are devastated. Our only wish now is that Robert is returned to us and so we can grieve together.”

Detective Chief Inspector Luke Marks, who is leading the investigation, said the decision to launch a murder inquiry came after a new witness came forward with “significant information”.

Specialist forensic experts were today searching a flat in Archway where detectives believe Mr Duff may have been attacked. Detectives are working on the possibility he was killed in a row inside the first-floor flat and his body was dumped in the lake.

The new witness came forward after his family appealed for information in January. At the time his daughter Stephanie said all the evidence suggested her father had “come to harm”.

Mr Duff, who was unemployed, has not been heard from since accidentally leaving a voicemail message on his daughter’s phone on January 12, 2013.

Two voices could be heard, one a woman and the other a Scottish-sounding man, but they have never made contact with the family or police.

The last sighting was CCTV footage showing him withdrawing money from an ATM outside Sainsbury’s in Holloway Road at 11.12am on January 12, 2013.

Anyone with information should call 020 8358 0200 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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