The daughters of a woman who vanished more than seven years ago have made a fresh appeal to find their missing mum. Stefana Otilia Malinici has not been seen by her family and friends since she left her home on Beccles Drive in Barking, east London, on 6 September 2017. The 45-year-old, who is also known as Otilia, was 37 at the time of her disappearance and working as a cleaner in the capital. The last sighting of her was on CCTV when she went into a shop on Green Lane in Ilford on 9 September 2017. Police believe she may have boarded the No 5 bus at 10.14pm from Wood Lane in Dagenham the next day – on 10 September 2017. Since then, police have not been able to trace her.
In a statement, her daughters said, «It has now been more than seven years without our mother. We have grown up without her and miss her every day. She always brings support and love for anyone who needs it, even strangers, and she always tries to cheer people up. We appeal to the public for anyone to come forward if they know anything about her or her whereabouts. We also appeal to her directly, please return home to us.»
Otilia, who is Romanian, is classed as vulnerable and in the intervening years has not made contact with her husband or children. She was last seen wearing a black top with a large light-colored motif, dark tight jeans or leggings tucked into flat dark, mid-calf length boots, and a dark-colored three-quarter length fitted jacket. She also had reddish hair in a bob style at the time.
Detective Chief Inspector Kam Sodhi, from the Metropolitan Police’s east area public protection unit, said, «It is now more than seven years since Otilia was reported missing and we are continuing our work to find out where she is. While there is no evidence to suggest that Otilia has come to physical harm, we cannot rule this out. Her family here in the UK and in Romania are still carrying on their daily lives without knowing where their loved one is. Her daughters have grown up without their mother, so we urge anyone who may know Otilia, or where she is, to come forward without further delay. We ask anyone who has provided shelter or support to Otilia to also please contact police. Even if this was not recently, we want to hear from you.
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