Trevaline Evans

Disclaimer: this article contains details which may be upsetting for some readers. Discretion is advised.

The picturesque town of Llangollen sits just across the border from England into Wales, with the cities of Wrexham to the north and Stoke-on-Trent to the east. The Welsh town has roots dating back to the 7th Century, taking part of its name from monk Saint Collen who founded a church beside the River Dee, a stretch of water which remains a focal point for the area. It has an extensive history in the farming industry - something which continues to this day - and the extensive number of sheep farms in the vicinity of the town encouraged the development of the wool industry to the town, with spinning and weaving being an important source of income across the centuries. Factories cropped up along the shores of the River Dee to facilitate the processing of wool and cotton, and a 600-year-old water mill can still be viewed near Llangollen railway station.

Despite being a popular tourist destination for those visiting Wales, the town remains small with the 2021 census registering just over 3,600 residents, providing it with a community feel where people know their neighbours and those they pass in the street. Much of the town's income circulates around the tourism industry, with people visiting for day trips and extended holidays, taking advantage of the beautiful walks around the mountainous landscape, visiting the steam railway or kayaking on the river. The Llangollen canal benefits from sightseers, too, with a horse-drawn barge being a popular attraction.

The Disappearance

Trevaline Evans was born on 6th September 1937 in Llangollen, North Wales, and was a life-long resident of the town. She was well known and respected in the community - not only as a neighbour and friend, but also as a business owner after opening Attic Antiques on Church Street. Trevaline lived in Market Street - a short distance from her shop - with her husband, Richard Evans. The pair had one grown son, also called Richard, a daughter-in-law, Anwen, and were grandparents to the couples one-year-old son, Huw. 

In addition to their permanent residence, Trevaline and Richard owned a holiday cottage in Rhuddlan on the coast of North Wales, over 30 miles and an hour's car journey from their Market Street home in Llangollen. The couple had been staying at the property in June 1990 and were in the process of renovating parts of the home in preparation for them to move there permanently once they both retired. 52-year-old Trevaline returned to Llangollen on Wednesday 13th June 1990 to manage the shop, whilst Richard remained in Rhuddlan to continue some of the work. 

On Saturday 16th June, Trevaline headed to Church Street to open Attic Antiques at 9:30am. Her dark blue Ford Escort estate car was reportedly parked 200 yards away from the shop, and in the place where she normally left it - I'm not entirely clear on whether she moved the car before she went to work, but I can only assume that she would have walked from her home to the shop as the two were less than half a mile apart. It would seem unusual to drive any of that distance, especially if she was going to leave her car 200 yards from the front door of her store. 

Llangollen town was busy that morning - the sunny weather was drawing people out of their homes and tourists had already started visiting the area in the early days of summer. The streets were bustling and Trevaline had 25 visitors to Attic Antiques before lunch, composed of a mixture of friends and customers. When these visitors were later interviewed by police, they would describe Trevaline as being her normal cheerful self, seeming relaxed and happy and mentioning that she had made arrangements to go out that evening. 

Sometime before the lunch period, a smartly dressed man was noted to be in the store talking animatedly with Trevaline. He was described as being between 50 and 60 years old with grey hair and wearing a dark-coloured blazer. 

At approximately 12:40pm, Trevaline popped a note on the door of the shop reading 'Back in two minutes', turned the key in the lock and placed the key fob in her pocket alongside her purse, which reportedly contained nearly £100. At 1pm, she was seen buying an apple and a banana from a grocer. At one stage, she was seen crossing Castle Street which runs centrally between Market Street and Church Street. The last confirmed sighting of her was near her home on Market Street at 2:30pm - but not the last reported sighting of her. 

Five minutes after the Market Street sighting, someone matching Trevaline's description was seen walking along Riverside Park, parallel with the A5 road, heading away from Llangollen town. More than an hour later, at 3:45pm, another unconfirmed sighting was noted of a woman similar to Trevaline in appearance walking along Park Avenue away from the River Dee. An additional report was made of Trevaline being seen at the Attic Antique's shop around 4pm speaking to the smartly dressed man in the dark blazer. None of these latter sightings have been confirmed, and are described as unofficial, meaning that the last time she was definitely seen was at 2:30pm on Market Street. 

The alarm would be raised when a passing motorist noticed that the antique shop was still open at 6pm, beyond it's normal closing time. Upon entering the store and finding it unmanned, but Trevaline's possessions still behind the counter, the police were contacted. 

The Investigation

The questions as to whether the banana skin was from Saturday 16th June and whether the purse was present in the handbag are more important than they may sound. In the bid to create a firm timeline of Trevaline's movements during the afternoon and exactly when she had gone missing could be indicated by the items in the shop. If the banana skin was from Saturday, it meant that she had returned to the shop after she had been seen purchasing the fruit from the grocer at 1pm. If her purse was in her handbag, it meant that she had placed it back there after she had returned from her lunchtime errands. If this was the case, the next step would have been to ask what time she left the shop again, and why? 

Once police had established that he Ford Escort car was still parked in its usual space 200 yards from the shop, they set about interviewing as many residents of Llangollen as possible in a bid to track down further witness sightings of the 52-year-old. After they had spoken to all households in the town, they extended door-to-door enquires to areas further afield.

More than 700 cars which had been in the Llangollen area on Saturday 16th June were traced and reviewed as part of the inquiry, and the names of 1,500 people were assessed in relation to the case - although it hasn't been confirmed in what capacity these names were reviewed.