In January 2013, Robert Duff (37) was reported missing after missing his daughter's 18th birthday celebration. Robert was last seen on January 12th, withdrawing money on Holloway Road in Kilburn, London. The police believe Robert was murdered that night, after getting into a fight.
His family last had contact with him at 8.30pm on January 12th, when he told his daughter to be careful on a night out with friends. Around 45 minutes later, he accidentally "pocket-dialled" his daughter and left a voicemail with the voices of a woman and two men in the background. Police traced the voicemail to Archway. The people in the voicemail have not been identified.
Robert had been to a flat in Bredgar Road on the night he died, and several people were there. His bank card and mobile phone remain missing, thought his bank account has not been touched. Robert was thought to be using drugs.
Robert Duff was friends with a woman called Lana Purcell who is also believed to have been murdered, but police are not linking the two cases. Both Robert and Lana Purcell had struggled with hard-drug addiction and moved in similar circles, according to investigators.
“Lana was a friend of his,” said Louise Smyth, (36) the mother of Mr Duff’s two daughters. “They grew up together, and they knew each other well. They were in some of the same circles.
The Investigation
Two men arrested have been arrested on suspicion of murder, but both have been released without charge. In November 2020, police divers began searching the No 1 pond on Hampstead Heath, Highgate, in response to new information.