Tabloid's Pursuit of Missing Girl Led to Its Own Demise

By STEVE STECKLOW and JEANNE WHALEN LONDON—In April 2002, News Corp.'s News of the World tabloid scrambled at least eight reporters and photographers to an Epson ink-cartridge factory in Britain's Midlands region, hoping to land a big scoop: Missing Milly Dowler Found Alive. Improbably, the tabloid's news desk had reason to believe the 13-year-old girl—whose disappearance was then a big story in Britain—had run away from home and gotten a job at the Epson factory. The reason: The paper had a voice-mail message, apparently intercepted from her phone, suggesting she worked there. The tabloid's hope was that, "When Milly Dowler clocked off work, we would be there outside the gates," said one journalist involved in the three-day stakeout, which hasn't previously been reported. "We could say, 'There you are, Milly, the whole world has been looking for you.' " It turned out the girl wasn't working at Epson. In September 2002, she was found murdered. The pursuit of Amanda "Milly" Dowler to the Epson factory would culminate, on April 14, 2002, with publication of the only articles containing discussions of the girl's voice mails printed by the News of the World. The voice mails, apparently obtained illegally, are at the heart of the phone-hacking scandal that has led to the closing of the 168-year-old paper, the resignations of several top executives, the scuttling of News Corp.'s £7.8 billion offer to acquire the rest of British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC, and a challenge for one of the world's most powerful media figures, News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch. A close look at News of the World's quest for Milly Dowler scoops in 2002 sheds fresh light on the crisis that is shaking News Corp. today. News Corp. officials have identified the person from the weekly tabloid's staff who commissioned a private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, to target Ms. Dowler's phone. This amounts to an explicit acknowledgment that the tabloid targeted her phone for illegal hacking. The company hasn't released that person's name. It remains unclear whether Mr. Mulcaire himself, or someone else, obtained the voice mails from Milly Dowler's phone. The law firm representing Mr. Mulcaire said neither he nor his attorney was available for comment. In another new twist, News of the World published more-detailed <a href="http://www.cheapcigarettesonlineoutlet.com/benson-hedges-100s-menthol-cigarettes-bule-p-360"><strong>Benson & Hedges 100's Menthol cigarettes bule</strong></a> voice mails from Milly Dowler's phone than the police, lawmakers and the public have until recently believed. The Wall Street Journal obtained copies of two early editions of the April 14, 2002, News of the World. A review of those papers found that early versions contained detailed quotes from voice mails. In the final edition, the article contained only one passing reference to a voice mail. As the scandal broke in recent weeks, the less-detailed version of the article from the paper's late edition was widely thought to have been the only one published by the tabloid. According to a person familiar with the matter, News Corp.'s U.K. newspaper unit, News International, separately discovered the earlier version of the article last month and turned it over to police, who are investigating. News Corp. owns the Journal. A spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan Police Service, or Scotland Yard, declined to comment. Until earlier this year, News Corp. had maintained that phone hacking at the tabloid was limited to just one reporter, Clive Goodman, who was jailed in 2007 for hacking phones of royal-family aides in 2005 and 2006. Police have launched multiple investigations into phone hacking and other alleged wrongdoing at the News of the World. Among the allegations: News of the World not only hacked Ms. Dowler's phone but also allegedly deleted some of the voice mails, impeding the police investigation and giving false hope that the girl was still alive and checking her phone. The disappearance of Milly Dowler, a bubbly 13-year-old who failed to return home from school on March 21, 2002, was one of the biggest stories of the year when it broke. News of the World covered it aggressively. It was the kind of news event that fell squarely in the tabloid's sweet spot. Just two years earlier, the Sunday tabloid had led a campaign that ultimately produced new legislation in the U.K. to protect children against convicted pedophiles. Police initially didn't rule out that Ms. Dowler might have run away. On April 11, three weeks after the girl's disappearance, News of the World got what seemed to offer a big break in the case. Neville Thurlbeck, an editor on the news desk, dispatched two reporters to an industrial area in the Midlands, according to a former staffer. Mr. Thurlbeck told the reporters there was a tip that Ms. Dowler might be working at a nearby Epson factory, the journalist said. The reporters weren't told the tip's source, according to the stakeout participant. Reached by phone, Mr. Thurlbeck said, "I am not commenting at all on any allegations regarding phone hacking at News of the World." Mr. Thurlbeck was arrested in April by Scotland Yard on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting mobile-phone voice mail messages. He hasn't been charged. The two reporters who arrived at the Epson factory near Telford, about 150 miles northwest of London, quickly determined the plant was too big for them to watch every exit. So the paper sent reinforcements. By late afternoon <a href="http://www.cheapcigarettesonlineoutlet.com/newport-2010-menthol-box-100s-cigarettes-for-sale-p-425"><strong>Discont Newport cigarettes</strong></a> at least eight reporters and photographers were on the scene. The assignment fit with the tabloid's hard-charging tradition of news-gathering. "Our challenge was to set the agenda, to wake up on Sunday morning and hear the news, radio, television talking about your story," said Aidan Magee, a sports reporter at the paper from 2007 until it closed last month. In this regard, News of the World was no different from its many rivals in the raucous world of the U.K.'s tabloids. Some papers go to nearly any length for a juicy scoop and trumpet their findings with bold, often cutting headlines. It is commonplace to offer payments to people with hot news tips and to use subterfuge such as hidden cameras to catch public figures misbehaving. One of the Epson stakeout participants says the team thought the tip was "a wild goose chase," given that Milly Dowler was just 13. News of the World monitored the factory exits for three days before finally concluding the missing girl didn't work there. On the third day, Saturday, April 13, at about 6 p.m.—roughly the deadline for the next day's early editions of the Sunday paper—Mr. Thurlbeck called off the mission, the journalist said. The tabloid never published a story about its stakeout. Instead, in the next day's first editions, it published the story focused on the voice-mail messages left on Milly Dowler's phone. The first version of the article ran in the early England edition and the Scotland edition, reaching hundreds of thousands of readers. News of the World had a total circulation of several million. The roughly 300-word story led with the fact that voice mails had been left for Milly after her disappearance, and said one of the messages "appeared to be offering [Milly] a job in the Midlands." The article quoted a message about this job offer, saying it was left at 10:13 on March 27: "Hello Mandy. We are ringing because we have some interviews starting. Can you call me back? Thank you. Bye Bye." The article also gave detailed accounts of two other messages left on the youngster's phone. It quoted from a strange and unexplained message left on March 28, at 7:48 a.m., by a man who signed off by saying, "Piggo, baby." The article also cited the time and date of a third voice mail, which it described as "another brief cryptic message." This version of the article was published in early England editions of the paper under the byline of Robert Kellaway. A nearly identical version ran in the Scottish edition with Sarah Arnold as the reporter. In an interview, Mr. Kellaway said he couldn't recall the story and didn't understand why his name was on it. Sarah Arnold also doesn't recall writing the story, two people familiar with the matter say. Ms. Arnold declined to comment. Former News of the World staffers say it wasn't unusual for the News of the World's editors to put a reporter's byline on a story not written by that person. In fact, one reporter whose name appeared on hundreds of News of the World stories over the years—Edward Trevor—doesn't actually exist, former staffers say. In the News of the World's final edition on April 14, 2002, the article about Milly Dowler changed dramatically. The article and its new headline now focused on the possibility that a hoaxer had been posing as Milly Dowler, hampering the police investigation. The article, which contained only one passing reference to a phone message, carried Ms. Arnold's byline. In some other articles where hacking has been suspected, the News of the World didn't quote directly from voice mails. When the paper hacked the phones of royal-family aides, for instance, two resulting stories didn't mention voice mails—the reporter simply stated as fact the information gleaned from the messages. On Sept. 22, 2002, Milly Dowler's remains were found by mushroom hunters in a forest about 25 miles from her home. This past June, the Dowlers finally received justice when Levi Bellfield, a former nightclub bouncer with two previous murder convictions, was found guilty of killing their daughter. He was sentenced to life in prison. At the time of Milly Dowler's disappearance, Mr. Bellfield lived close to where she was last seen, but he escaped police notice for years. Scotland Yard reopened its investigation into the reporting tactics at News of the World in January of this year, after evidence of more widespread involvement in phone hacking arose both from civil lawsuits and from an internal investigation by News Corp.'s U.K. newspaper unit, News International. Several months ago, police told the murdered girl's family that messages on her phone had been illegally intercepted, according to the family's lawyer, Mr. Lewis. The <a href="http://www.cheapcigarettesonlineoutlet.com"><strong>cheap newport cigarettes</strong></a> Guardian newspaper last month reported the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone and the deletion of some of her voice mails, stirring widespread public outrage. Previously, hacking victims tended to be public figures—celebrities, sports stars—not a teenager who had disappeared. A week after the news broke, News Corp.'s founder, Mr. Murdoch, met with and apologized to the Dowler family. To date in the overall phone-hacking scandal, 15 people have been arrested, including several former News of the World editors. None has been charged. A Parliamentary committee has been homing in on the activities in the News of the World's newsroom on the evening of April 13, 2002, when the tabloid was preparing to publish its articles on the voice mails. Rebekah Brooks, the paper's then-editor, has said she was away that day. Ms. Brooks resigned last month as chief executive of News International. She later was arrested by police investigating allegations of phone hacking and police bribery by the tabloid. She hasn't been charged. She declined through a spokesman to comment. This week, News Corp. for the first time identified by name four people it said had primary responsibilities in the newsroom for reviewing articles at the time that the Milly Dowler article was published. In a statement to Parliament, the company said Tom Crone was the legal manager at the time, though it said it didn't have records for "who was the on-duty lawyer" on that date. It named Ms. Brooks, who was on paid holiday at that time, Mr. Thurlbeck, the news editor, and Peter Smith, the night editor. Messrs. Crone and Thurlbeck declined to comment on the statement. Mr. Smith couldn't be reached. On Friday Mr. Lewis, the Dowler family lawyer, said the family and News International are now in talks aimed at avoiding litigation over the phone-hacking matter. "No agreement has been reached," he said. A spokeswoman for News International declined to comment specifically on any talks with the Dowlers but said the company is looking to settle with phone-hacking victims as swiftly as possible. &mdash;Cassell Bryan-Low and Paul Sonne contributed to this article. Write to Steve Stecklow at steve.stecklow@wsj.com and Jeanne Whalen at jeanne.whalen@wsj.com