Man quizzed over 1975 murder case

No trace was found of Pat Allen's children

A 67-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of three members of a Devon family 26 years ago.

He was held on suspicion of murder, but later bailed.

Pat Allen was 39 when she vanished from her home in Salcombe in May 1975, along with her son Jonathan, seven, and daughter Victoria, five.

Their disappearance led to one of the country's biggest missing person investigations.

No trace of them has ever been found.

Pat Allen and her children vanished in 1975

Police divers searched off the Devon coast for them.

Mrs Allen's husband, Anthony, later moved away from the area.

Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police detained a 67-year-old man in the Bournemouth area on Monday.

He was questioned at a local police station and bailed until January.

Police say they cannot give his name.

A file is being submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Modern methods

Detectives reopened files on the case this year.

A police spokesman said at the time: "We have a policy in force to look at unsolved cases of missing persons after so many years, and review them using modern techniques.

Police divers searched for the missing family

The initial investigation only began when rumours began circulating about the disappearances.

Mrs Allen never contacted relatives or used her bank account - which still contains hundreds of pounds from the sale of a business.

Mr Allen has always denied any involvement in his family's disappearance.