I was only nine when my mum vanished – cops stopped caring so I took on the case… and it uncovered my worst fears

The Sun

2 days ago

YOUNG mum Izabela Helena Zabłocka moved to the UK after landing a new job in 2009 - but just 18 months later she vanished without a trace.
What's perhaps more baffling is that it would be 15 years until a formal search was launched in Britain - after her daughter finally stepped in to uncover the truth.
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Izabela, who left behind nine-year-old daughter Kasia Zabłocka with family in Poland, had apparently been living happily in the Normanton area of Derby before she went missing on August 29, 2010.
That day, the then 30-year-old left her home on Prince Street to head to work at the former Cranberry Foods Turkey and Chicken Factory, in Scropton, a few miles from the city.
But her worried family reached out to Polish cops when she suddenly stopped making contact, despite telling loved ones that she planned to head back to Poland.
Izabela's family was told that officers in the Eastern European country had made checks in prisons and hospitals, and it was assumed she had returned to her homeland.
But they found nothing of significance before their investigation was thought to have been closed in 2015.
To this day, the young mum has never been traced and Derbyshire Constabulary later confirmed the case was never communicated to them at the time of her disappearance.
Izabela's family reluctantly accepted they would likely never find out what happened until her daughter decided to launch her own appeal.
Earlier in May, Derbyshire Police were approached by Izabela's daughter, Kasia, now 25, who, in a last ditch effort to find her mum reported her as missing.
She was then baffled to learn this was the first the force had heard about her.
Derbyshire cops launched an appeal that led to more information emerging before they arrested two women, aged 39, and a man aged 41, on suspicion of murder on Tuesday (May 27), just over a week after the investigation was started.
Kasia, who lives in Gryfice, northwest Poland, told The Sun she's now turned detective to finally find out what happened to her mother all those years ago.
The force has yet to release any further details about the case - and the timeline around Izabela's disappearance is still not entirely clear.
Speaking just hours before the arrests, Kasia said: "I hope I will find out the truth about her disappearance."
She continued: "I was a child then, now I am an adult, and I've decided to try to find her myself."
Kasia has no idea why Polish cops never liaised with forces in the UK but she hopes the latest probe will uncover the truth.
Speaking to The Sun via an online translator, she said: "My family reported my mother missing when she stopped calling us, and we reported her disappearance to the Polish police.
"The British police have taken up the investigation into my mother's disappearance and this is all I know about the case.
"I can say that she left for Derby at the beginning of 2009 and went missing on August 29, 2010."
Despite the torment of not knowing, she remembers her mum fondly, recalling her helping her with homework and taking her on days out before her move to UK.
She says those brief memories have kept her driven and saved her from giving up on her search for answers.
Kasia continued: "Mum was a sociable, cheerful person; she had many friends.
"She loved spending time with me and having fun together. She took care of me and helped me with my school homework."
Worst fears come true
Kasia has been posting about her mother's disappearance in missing persons groups on Facebook, and a private investigation firm, Alpha Investigators, has also shared information online.
She has also been liaising with charities in Poland, as well as writing to the Polish embassy in London - who she says confirmed they would check prisons in England and Wales.
Kasia, who has so far been unable to travel to the UK, added: "When Mum went missing, I was 9 years old, I was a child.
"It was only when I became an adult that I took up the search for Mum again.
"I did everything to publicise my mother's disappearance; it took me a lot of time, but I hope I will find out the truth."
She went on to say: "My family reported the case to the Polish police 15 years ago, but now we are finding out that the British police did not receive the report during those 15 years, and they have only just started an investigation.
"The Polish police only checked prisons and hospitals and didn't find anything significant, and after a few years, the disappearance case went to the archive."
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She continued: "I started looking for her on my own as soon as I became an adult.
"I started publicising my mother's disappearance in Poland, in the media and on YouTube. I did everything I could, and Polish charities helped me with this.
"I started making posters about my mother's disappearance. I wrote to the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London, and they wrote back that they would check the prisons in England and Wales, but I did not receive any information on whether this was actually checked."
The 25-year-old had hoped her mum had simply decided to start a new life, and she would suddenly appear with a new identity.
But now she accepts she is likely dead.
And sadly, her fears were confirmed when cops arrested three people on suspicion of murder on Tuesday.
Talking about the tragic update, she says: "I'm very upset by the news I've received, and I'm so sorry that I received this message and not another one.
"I want to know where my mother's remains are; I really need to know.
"I've been looking for her for 15 years, and I hope I finally find out the truth."
The three people arrested have since been bailed pending further enquiries, with searches of a property in Derby continuing.
Forensic teams and officers have been searching an address in Princes Street as part of the investigation and will remain there for the "coming days", they said this week.
Cops believe Izabela is dead, but no remains have been found.
But they did say they believed the answers surrounding Izabela's disappearance "are in the community" and urged anyone who knew her to come forward.
Timeline of Izabela Helena Zabłocka's disappearance
Early 2009 - Izabela Helena Zabłocka moved from her home in Gryfice, northwest Poland, to Normanton in Derby to begin factory work.
August 29 2010 - Her family report Izabela missing to Polish police and an investigation is launched.
Around 2015 - They were told by Polish cops the case had been archived.
2018-2025 - Kasia undertook her own search, posting appeals online, liaising with charities in Poland and eventually contacting the Polish Embassy in London.
May 2025 - Kasia reported her mum as missing to Derbyshire Police and was surprised to hear they had never been informed she had disappeared.
May 28 2025 - Derbyshire Police arrest three people on suspicion of murder after opening the case around a week earlier.
Superintendent Rebecca Webster read a statement in front of media outside 113 Princes Street, Normanton at 3.30pm on Wednesday (May 28), urging anyone who knew Izabela to come forward, regardless of how insignificant the information may seem.
She said: "We're here today to appeal for information as part of a murder inquiry linked to the disappearance of Izabela Zablocka some 15 years ago.
"I wanted to start this appeal by stating that, due to information we have received recently, we believe that Izabela is dead.
"However, we have not found her remains. I understand that this will cause concern amongst the community, not least due to the time passed since Izabela's disappearance.
"Izabela, a Polish national, came to the UK in 2009 and lived in Princes Street in Normanton during 2010. Izabela last made contact with her family in Poland on August 28, 2010, but despite their best efforts to trace her, she has never been found.
"A missing persons report was not made to Derbyshire police or any other UK authority at this time.
"However, in the last week, officers received a report with information about Izabela's disappearance which led to a murder investigation being launched.
"We know that Izabela worked for a time at the former Cranberry Foods Turkey and Chicken Factory in Scropton. In the last few days, officers have been searching an address in Princes Street which will continue into the coming days.
"Two women, aged 39, and a man, aged 41, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and have now been released on bail pending further inquiries.
"We believe the answers around Izabela's disappearance are in the community.
"People will have known her. People will have worked with her. And people will have socialised with her. Then one day she vanished.
"Do you remember anything from that time? Do you remember anyone acting suspicously? Do you remember anyone saying something about Izabela that seems to you odd now today?
"No matter how insignificant you think it is, please come forward and speak to us or Crimestoppers. You may hold they key to bring answers to Izabela's family."
Crimestoppers is offering a £20,000 reward for any information that leads to the conviction of those responsible for Izabela's death.