Mariann Borocz was fifty-five years old, originally from Hungary, and had been living and working quietly in Bolton for five years. On the morning of the fourteenth of December 2024, she walked into a shop on Chorley Old Road. A man followed her in. When she left, he followed her out.

She was reported missing the next day. For nine days, Greater Manchester Police searched for her — issuing appeals in English and Hungarian, speaking to hundreds of residents, reviewing hours of CCTV. The breakthrough came from a neighbourhood officer, a shop doorway, and a photograph taken years earlier on a Bolton street.