Police are making a fresh appeal to find a 24-year-old woman who went missing more than a year ago. Detectives fear Alisha Apostoloff-Boyarin, from Tameside, may have been killed.
The 24-year-old was reported missing on February 2 last year by her grandmother, who had not heard from her and was concerned for her welfare. Greater Manchester Police launched an immediate missing persons investigation, but following a number of lines of enquiry the search was elevated to a murder probe.
Today (February 6) the force has released another image of Alisha, from Ashton-under-Lyne, as well as a gold Volkswagen Passat saloon. It was the car Alisha was travelling in when she was last seen on January 22 last year, leaving Glossop and heading towards Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire.
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Eight days earlier, she had been seen travelling to Bishop Auckland, County Durham, as a passenger in the same vehicle - which has since been seized and examined. A 59-year-old man, who has ties to Ashton-Under-Lyne, was arrested on suspicion of murder in March 2022 and has since been bailed under investigation.
DCI Liam Boden said: "A year has passed now and still Alisha has not been seen by family, friends and loved ones and as the investigation continues it is believed that she may have come to serious harm. We need you - the public - to cast your minds back to Saturday, January 22 2022 and following days after, did you see anything suspicious?
"Did you see Alisha? Have you seen the vehicle in question? Do you know where that vehicle went? Did you witness any suspicious activity on nearby lanes or land?
"We are also appealing to the rural communities of Derbyshire in particular around Glossop, Buxton and Chapel-en-le-frith to come forward if you have seen anything suspicious or vehicles trespassing on private land around these dates. If you were around the Glossop, Chapel-en-le-frith or Buxton areas of Derbyshire, please contact police immediately.
"If you know anything, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, it may be the missing piece we need in our investigation to find Alisha. We are looking for CCTV, dashcam footage, images or any accounts of suspicious behaviour around that date as this will bring us one step closer to finding Alisha and help us understand what has happened to her.”
In a statement released last March, Alisha's family said her lack of contact with them was 'unheard of', and they believed she had been killed. They said: "Alisha lived with her great-grandad, who she adored, and would never be away from home for this long.
"We know in our hearts that someone has prevented Alisha from coming home to us and that she is no longer alive. Alisha's world revolved around her family. She was a shy girl and did not socialise very much.
"She was only comfortable when she was at home. Not knowing where Alisha is, or what has happened to her, is torment and we cannot begin to describe the pain and anguish we feel at the moment.
"We just want Alisha home so we can lay her to rest and have some closure. We ask that anyone who has information as to where Alisha may be, or who is responsible for what has happened to her, to please contact the police."
Any information on Alisha's disappearance can be passed on to GMP by calling 101 or online at GMP’s Major Incident Portal to upload footage and information. Alternatively, call GMPs Major Incident team on 0161 856 6777, or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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