![](../images/simms_ian/001.jpg)
Helen McCourt, 22 and from Billinge, went
missing on a stormy night on February 9, 1988.
![](../images/simms_ian/002.jpg)
Police scoured nearby playing fields for clues
following Helen's disappearance
![](../images/simms_ian/003a.JPG)
![](../images/simms_ian/003.jpg)
Ian Simms, who was convicted of Helen's murder,
is led away from
The George and Dragon, where he was landlord
![](../images/simms_ian/004.jpg)
Search volunteers cram into a hall for a police
briefing
![](../images/simms_ian/005.jpg)
Volunteers combed wasteland in a bid to find
Helen
![](../images/simms_ian/006.jpg)
Hundreds of people turned out to help in the
search
![](../images/simms_ian/007.jpg)
Simms behind the bar at The George and Dragon
in Billinge
![](../images/simms_ian/008.jpg)
In the days that followed Helen's disappearance,
a model retraced
the missing Billinge girl's last known footsteps
![](../images/simms_ian/009.jpg)
Mounted officers joined in the search for Helen
![](../images/simms_ian/010.jpg)
Helen's disappearance saw Billinge became the
focus of national news coverage
![](../images/simms_ian/011.jpg)
Stop and search...police mounted an intensive
search operation in the hunt for clues
![](../images/simms_ian/012.jpg)
Marie McCourt and her family still want Ian
Simms to reveal where Helen's body lies
so they can give her a Christian burial.
![](../images/simms_ian/013.jpg)
Marie McCourt has continued her relentless
search for Helen's body.
![](../images/simms_ian/022.jpg)
Marie McCourt
![](../images/simms_ian/021.jpg)
Marie McCourt