Other notable cases · 2008 · 2000s

The Shannon Matthews Kidnapping Hoax

In February 2008 nine-year-old Shannon Matthews disappeared in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, prompting a huge search. She was found alive 24 days later, hidden in the base of a divan bed; her mother Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan were convicted of kidnapping her in a staged plot to claim reward money.

This summary is written in our own words from published historical sources. Map locations are approximate. Every case in the archive is at least ten years old.