While reading the BBC field reports from Iraq, I ran across a puzzling reference from one reporter, who said, "Saddam Hussein has already been spotted in more places than Lord Lucan. He's been in the Russian embassy, he's been in the mosque this morning, he's alleged to be on a convoy to Syria - no doubt he'll soon be found on a sofa in Huddersfield." (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/2934651.stm)

Never having heard of the "Lord Lucan" reference (but guessing it to be somewhat of a British equivalent to an Elvis sighting), I went poking around the web and was intrigued by the story:

] At 9.45pm on the night of 7th November 1974, a distressed
] and bloodstained woman burst into the bar of The Plumber's
] Arms, Lower Belgrave Street, crying out "Help me, help me,
] help me. I've just escaped from being murdered. He's in the
] house. He's murdered the Nanny!"

Though it sounds like the plot of a mystery novel or urban legend, it's evidently quite true: Over 25 years ago, a British nobleman murdered the nanny and disappeared, to be followed by a string of sightings placing him in a variety of countries around the world. The full story of the night of the murder is here:

 http://www.lordlucan.com

The most recent "hard news" that I could find was a 1999 BBC News article announcing that the missing Lord had finally been officially declared dead:

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/487211.stm

And the most recently updated info that I could find, was from a site by Lady Lucan, "setting the record straight" on some of the misinformation that's accumulated over the years. This seems to be the most up-to-date information, and includes many pictures from family photo albums, as well as quite a bit of rant from Lady Lucan. Some of it seems to be fact-based, though there are other sections which make accusations of a "criminal conspiracy" to take away her rights, and "a device used by the medical profession to simulate nervous breakdown" and that she became "involuntarily addicted" to certain types of medication. She goes on to accuse the authorities of abusing her human rights, and levels accusations at various other people with examples of "rude behavior" (such as not inviting her to a family wedding):

 http://www.ladylucan.co.uk/

Anyway, it was an interesting little side jaunt into British culture . . .