Louise Kerton

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Aachen State Prosecutor (GERMANY)

Missing From:

Aachen, Germany

Summary:

Louise Kerton is a British woman from Broadstairs, Kent, United Kingdom, who went missing in Germany in July 2001. At the time of her disappearance she was a student nurse. Peter's mother Ramona said she had dropped her off at Aachen Hauptbahnhof on 30 July 2001. Louise had planned to take a train to Ostend and then travel to Dover. Since Louise did not make contact with her family, her friends or her fiancé, investigators assume that she is a victim of foul play.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

She spent five weeks with Peter's family in Straßfeld near Bonn after failing nursing exams. Peter had travelled to the UK two days before she was to pick up some building materials. Peter's mother Ramona said she had dropped her off at Aachen Hauptbahnhof on 30 July 2001. Louise had planned to take a train to Ostend and then travel to Dover. For this purpose, her mother-in-law brought her to the main station in Aachen. Whether Louise arrived at the station or boarded the train is uncertain, except for her mother-in-law's statement, as nobody saw both women at the station. German reporting later fixed the intended departure at 12:04 from platform 8 on train number 420, headed toward Ostend. The problem is that investigators never found independent confirmation that she even arrived there. German reporting in 2011 stated police could not locate witnesses who saw the two women or the conspicuous British plated car at the station. Early UK reporting also points to an investigative handicap: a lack of CCTV coverage at Aachen station at the time.

Additional Details:

Louise was reported missing on July 31, 2001, after she failed to return from Germany. After Louise failed to arrive in Dover, the case briefly pivoted because German police said they had reports of her being sighted in Aachen in early August 2001. These sightings shaped the first theory that she might still be alive. According to the missing persons' bureau in Aachen, she was supposedly seen four times between August 8 and August 11. German police treated her disappearance as routine - they received unconfirmed reports that she was living in a hostel for the homeless in Aachen. Her father believes that authorities were slow to act as she was 24 and therefore considered an adult. In late 2001 her family hired Bob Moffatt, a former Scotland Yard Superintendent as a private investigator. They have also hired Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection. Moffatt and her family have criticised the Simon family for failing to cooperate with police and for alleged inconsistencies in their statements. Police found photos on film in her camera at Peter's home in Germany. Peter Simon's brother Michael suffers from schizophrenia and was acquitted of murdering a 79-year-old woman in Broadstairs, Kent, in 1993. German police closed the investigation 10 years after Louise went missing, concluding there was nothing suspicious about her disappearance. Serial killer Michel Fourniret, nicknamed the Ogre of Ardennes, who was jailed for life for raping and murdering nine girls between 1987 and 2001 and is suspected of killing more, was investigated but never charged in connection to Louise's disappearance. Louise went missing in Germany while the murder suspect was flitting between the Portuguese resort Praia da Luz – where Madeleine is believed to have been kidnapped – and his German homeland. Louise's mum, Mr Kerton's wife Kath, died of stomach cancer in 2010. Kent Police says as Louise had not travelled back to the UK, the Aachen State Prosecutor remains the lead agency on the case. Detective Superintendent Gavin Moss said: "On 30 July 2001 Louise Kerton failed to return home to her family in Kent after a stay in Aachen, Germany and understandably her loved ones want to know what happened to her."

Case Last Updated:

May 11, 2026