Just heard (7.30am) on the radio that Surrey Police have identified the mystery car as:
"Dark Mazda MX6" of which about 5000 were sold in the UK.
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Hopefully this will be a big breakthrough.
Some random thoughts I have had. I am sure people will correct me if I've made wrong assumptions..
I am thinking of the 5000 or so MX6s in the UK, how many are blue, black or very dark green? It can't be more than 2000 at the most as the majority of these cars seem to be red or silver (at least from the ones I have seen over the years). The DVLA will be able to provide the addresses of all dark coloured MX6s and from this the police may be able to eliminate a further number from their enquiries. If, by questioning them, they can eliminate even more MX6 owners who weren't in the Surrey area on that date then this could leave a manageable sample set that they can start further investigations on.
As I said, even allowing for wrong assumptions on my part, I think this is a huge breakthrough.
One thing though, I wonder how the Police managed to confirm the type of car when all the people who contribute on this site could not. They must have had access to better pictures because the ones we had to look at just weren't good enough to enable us to be confident in naming the car.
Cheers
from Jase
CavV6 and cavWeb fan.
www.cavweb.co.uk
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'One thing though, I wonder how the Police managed to confirm the type of car when all the people who contribute on this site could not.'
Not true - I suggested it was an MX6, I thought the shape of the back window and spoiler was very identifiable
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For the benefit of newcomers to the site, the original thread seeking help to identify the car can be found at
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=i&t=77...3
As to the efficiency of the Police, I just checked their web site
www.surreypolice.org.uk/index.asp
to see what exactly they have said (rather than rely on the radio report).
Surprise, surprise, the last "update" report they have is dated 21 August 2002 when it was still a "missing person" case, and it therefore does not even mention the later discovery in the forest near Blackbushe, let alone today's update on the identity of the car!
Sadly, another example of the inability of national organisations to make use of the full instant messaging abilities of the internet.
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The surrey police webmaster could do with some lessons from Steven Khoo; the reason the link
www.surreypolice.org.uk/index.asp
above has old news is that it has since been replaced by the new
www.surrey.police.uk/index.asp
The new link does have latest news. I hope this is not indicative of how they work in other areas.
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Apologies to Surrey Police - They have jsut posted the following news item:
www.surrey.police.uk/news_item.asp?itemid=2470
<<< " --- Surrey Police officers investigating the murder of 13 year-old Amanda Dowler have identified the make of car that was seen on CCTV footage close to Walton-on-Thames train station on the day that Amanda disappeared, as a Mazda MX6.
The car was seen driving slowly down Station Avenue at around 4.15pm on 21 March 2002, appearing to stop and talk to a pedestrian. In spite of appeals made by police for the driver of that vehicle to come forward they have not yet done so. Inquiries are now being made to track down the owners of such vehicles in the Surrey, Hampshire and London areas. ---
--- Notes for Editors
Work around a series of analytical techniques culminating in superimposition of images of vehicles over CCTV footage, including the images of the Mazda MX6 released today, was supplied free of charge to Surrey Police by Kalagate Imagery Bureau who are based in Cambridgeshire --- " >>>
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"..superimposition of images of vehicles over CCTV footage"
Sounds like too much effort to make technology do something that a person with a good knowledge of cars could do more easily...
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"..superimposition of images of vehicles over CCTV footage" Sounds like too much effort to make technology do something that a person with a good knowledge of cars could do more easily...
maybe so, but unfortunately, the only reliable way to convince juries nowadays, against clever defence QCs, is to use a belts and braces approach. Better to be safe than sorry in this respect - as the Police in the Paul Burrell "butler theft case" discovered about sloppy work.
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Seems like a lot of trouble to superimpose a digital image on the video, first finding an image of the car and correct angle and, secondly, compensating for the distortion created by the CCTV lens.
Would it not have been easier to borrow an MX6, drive it along the road and film it with the same CCTV camera?
More accurate and more believable if needed as evidence.
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Just read on ceefax pg 166 (for the south) that the driver of the car has come forward and been eliminated from the enquiries.
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>>Note that the day of the abdusction was a Thursday which is not a business day for BCA Blackbushe. It is, however, a day when traders bring cars to the auction or collect them.<<
The first time I drove to Blackbushe and saw the flowers at the roundabout between the M3 and A30 it took a minute to realise why... and I did wonder that those woods are familiar to car traders who travel to Blackbushe. Did you have the same suspicion?
PB.
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