Nobody thought to check a home he rented?
Not the first time ...
Henniker HeatonSir Peregrine Henniker-Heaton was a former RAF security officer who became Deputy Provost Marshal in the Levant in 1945, and was in charge of RAF Police in Palestine during the mandate. He remained in Palestine until 1948 and, during that time, his car was blown up several times. He retired in 1958 as a Wing Commander, but continued his involvement with the Middle East, serving as a member of the Anglo-Arab Association.
He vanished on 5 October 1971, after setting out from his home in Ealing, west London. Subsequent police searches throughout the country proved fruitless and reports were received that the baronet had been seen in various places, including New York and Paris. There was also speculation that he had been murdered because of his connection with security work and the Middle East.
On Sunday 23 June 1974, his body was found by his son Yvo in a locked lumber room in the family home in Ealing. Yvo opened the room with a key he found in a desk in the hall and entered the room to fetch a cabinet for some gramophone records. "When I opened the door, it [the room] seemed the same as when I had last seen it. A suit of clothes was on the bed. It was only when I went into the room and turned around to face the bed that I realized it was my father."
At the subsequent inquest, an open verdict was recorded, since the cause of death was not ascertainable, although there was no evidence of violence.
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