The questions asked by this petition have been responded to by Tony Melville. Chief Constable of Gloucester Police giving clear and concise answers to those questions.
I have replicated the body of his letter and my point by point response to his answers.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/find-the-remains-of-mary-bastholm/blog/8354

Mr Melville went on to formally request that this petition be taken down because it is "misleading". I will make no apology for not acceding to that request because although Mr Melville's answers are in the main quite plausible, his response to the exercise book issue certainly is not.

I intend that this petition remain online for as long as possible as a reminder that Mary has not been found and that my personal opinion as to her whereabouts remains the same. That opinion is not based on vitriol or guesswork, it is based on logic. I may well be wrong but until such time as I am proved wrong, my opinion holds.
However, for anyone who would rather that their name be removed from the petition, please go to the URL posted above and post a comment at the foot of it providing the name under which you signed and your email address.

Chris Roberts.
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We, the undersigned, require that Gloucester Police act on evidence already known to search for the remains of Mary Bastholm at the location now known as The Oasis Cafe, 59 Southgate Street Gloucester GL1 1TX. Mary disappeared without trace in Gloucester on 5th January 1968 and is widely regarded as another victim of Fred West. The facts in this matter of which the Police are aware include; 1. Fred West was a regular customer of the cafe and knew Mary 2. Mary was seen in West's car on more than one occasion. 3. West admitted to his son Stephen and to Janet Leach that he had killed Mary. 4. West did the basement toilet conversion at the cafe around the time of Mary's disappearance A major part of this conversion was the laying of a concrete floor. 5. West's known 'modus operendi' was to bury his victims. 6. At the time of Wests' arrest in 1994, the then tenant of the cafe reported to the Police that he had found a school exercise book belonging to Mary secreted behind some brickwork in the toilet area. This book was collected by the Police but the Bastholm family were not informed of its discovery. A discussion on this matter can be found at; http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Did-Fred-West-murder-Mary-Bastholm-detective-s/story-14259154-detail/story.html Gloucester Police responded within this discussion, thus; “We are not aware of any new evidence in relation to this case that has not already been investigated. However, should any fresh evidence come to light we would welcome the opportunity of reviewing it and taking appropriate action. The inquiry into the disappearance of Mary Bastholm is, like every other investigation of its nature, still open and we would still be very keen to bring closure to her family and the community.” We believe that, given the evidence already known, no "new evidence" is necessary to prompt the Police to examine the relevant area at the Oasis cafe in order to confirm or deny that this is the burial site of Mary Bastholm.

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