Police have launched an appeal to find a teenager who vanished 53 years ago today when she was aged 15.

Tina Whittamore was placed in the Whitaker Mother and Baby Unit in Grasmere Road, Luton, in 1971.

She was last seen in the Bedfordshire town on 31 May the same year at about 2.30pm when she said she was going for a walk.

She never returned.

Her case is now being reviewed by Bedfordshire Police and the force has released a photo of what Tina looked like at the time she went missing – plus an image of what she may look like today.

She would now be 68.

Detectives investigating her disappearance say there was a missing report issued by Thames Valley Police in September 1971 for an 18-year-old woman in High Wycombe called Christine King.

It was established that Tina and Christine were the same person.

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In the early 1970s, there was information to suggest Tina had lived and worked in Soho and Notting Hill in London.

Police also believe she may have been treated in a hospital in the capital in 1990, but discharged herself before she could be identified.

She was in Holland Park and in 1991 was reported to be sleeping rough in Notting Hill.

However, since then, there have been no reported sightings of her, according to Bedfordshire Police.

Tina was described as 5ft 2ins tall, with a fresh complexion, light brown hair and brown eyes – with a slight squint in the left eye.

Police say she was also known to dye her hair blonde or wear a wig.

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Detective Sergeant James Morgan said: “We realise this is a case from many years ago, but we never give up trying to find people reported as missing.

“Cases, such as these, are reviewed on an ongoing basis and are reopened if any new information is shared with us.

“We would just like to know that Tina is safe.”

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