My Son Disappeared Like Britt Lapthorne Did

The mother of Peter Ruchton, who was killed in 2005 in Porec, tells the media that her son’s case is similar to the Lapthorne case.

Grace Rushton, a mother from Britain, told the press that the case of Britt Lapthorne is nearly the same as the disappearance of her son Peter from 2005, who was on holiday in Istria, reports news.com.au.

“When I heard about the Australian girl, I couldn't believe it. It was identical” said Rushton.

Peter’s sister alerted the authorities one week after her son did not return home to Boutnemouth in the south of England. His passport, together with his belongings, were still in the hotel that Peter was staying at, to which he did not return after a night out one week earlier.

The Rushtons came to Croatia and met with the police, and informed the media about Peter’s disappearance. However, his body was already in the morgue.

One fisherman found his remains, and according to the Rushtons, the coroner reported that it was at sea for more than ten months. However, a Croatian teenager soon admitted guilt after that. Peter was drinking with a group of local young men who later beat him up and put him in a bag with weights and threw him into the sea, not far from Porec.

Britt Lapthorne disappeared from Dubrovnik’s Fuego nightclub on September 18, and her body was found on October 8. The coroners at first could not confirm if the young Australian was in question, because the remains were in poor condition, but later a DNA test proved that the remains were that of Britt.

The Lapthorne family raised media dust together with Australia’s Channel 7 about the way that Dubrovnik’s police were handling the case, and they still claim that a criminal group is loose in Dubrovnik which kidnaps and murders tourists.

However, the sensationalist story about the alleged murder of Britt Lapthorne remains without firm evidence, and the authorities in Dubrovnik still do not know what happened that fatal night.