The Missing

EPISODE 81 – What happened to Debra Marie Melo? (USA)

In this episode we cover the tragic story of Debra Marie Melo from Taunton, Massachusetts whose disappearance has baffled the inhabitants of her hometown for almost twenty-five years now.

Debra was a devoted mother and friend, who lit up the lives of everyone who knew her. She adored her two children but her relationship with her husband was tumultuous to say the least. When she vanished on June 20th, 2000 she was strongly considering getting a divorce. Debra was allegedly last seen by her husband on Route 18 in South Weymouth, after the pair had gotten into an argument whilst driving and she demanded to be let out of the car. He returned to the site twenty minutes later, but Debra was nowhere to be seen.

 

EPISODE 80 – Mackenzie Rae Marken (USA)

In this episode we bring you the strange story of Mackenzie Rae Marken, a fourteen year old Wisconsinite, who vanished from her home in the city of Schofield, on October 11th, 2015. Almost ten years later, the authorities are no closer to learning what happened to her that day.

Mackenzie was fiercely independent, someone who was in a major hurry to grow up and see what the world outside Wisconsin had to offer her. She was also a digital native, a member of the first generation to grow up online, continually finding new ways to express herself via the internet. In fact, there are those who believe that Mackenzie’s social media activity, specifically the strangers we now know she was in contact with in the weeks and months before she vanished, played a role in her disappearance.

 

EPISODE 79 – Ahren Barnard (USA)

In this episode we tell the baffling story of the disappearance of Ahren Benjamin Barnard.

Ahren Benjamin Barnard, known as Benj to many, was 35 years old when he vanished from Boise, Idaho. Ahren was a born entrepreneur, having started his first business at the age of  21, an exotic fish store which he named Tanks A Lot. By the time he vanished, Ahren had worked as a DJ, a pawn broker and a gun salesman and was looking into starting a limousine business. On the night of December 4th, 2004, Ahren dropped off his son with the child’s mother at the McDonalds on the corner of Cole Rd and Overland Rd in central Boise. He was never seen again.

 

EPISODE 78 – Antonio Neill (USA)

In this episode we tell the tragic story of Antonio Neill, who disappeared in bizarre circumstances in Everett, Washington almost ten years ago.

Antonio, despite the best efforts of his mother, led a very self-destructive lifestyle, one that left him highly dependent on both drugs and alcohol. Despite several stints in rehab in his teenage years, Antonio’s poor decision making eventually got him in trouble with the law, earning himself a ten month prison sentence. Inside, Antonio turned a corner however and just a few months after he got out, he was not only a year sober, but chairing his own AA and NA meetings. Sadly, a chance encounter led to him falling off the wagon and subsequently kicked out of his sober living house. In December 2016, on Antonio’s first night crashing at an old acquaintance’s place, there was a violent encounter between the two, which ended in Antonio allegedly fleeing the scene. The truth about what happened in that house, has been shrouded in mystery ever since.

 

EPISODE 77 – Kimberley Sue Doss (USA)

In this episode we bring you the strange story of Kimberly Sue Doss, who, at the age of 14, vanished whilst travelling home to her mother in Houston, Texas. Her disappearance is a mystery that has plagued her loved ones for over forty years.

Kimberly’s parents were separated and she split her time between Texas and Iowa. Uprooting her life several times a year was putting a strain on her relationships so, one day in February, 1980, she ran away from home. Kimberly said she was getting a ride to school but instead, she took a bus to Davenport, where her father resided. In all truth, she preferred living in Houston but her closest friends, as well as her boyfriend, were in the Hawkeye State. Before long however, Kimberly grew tired of life as a runaway and contacted her mother, telling her she was coming back. The last time anyone heard from her, was a phone call explaining that she had met a girl named Kathy on the bus and would be staying with her during her stopover in Chicago. Kimberly never made it home.

 

EPISODE 76 – David Allen Clark (USA)

In this episode we cover the tragic story of David Allen Clark, a 38 year old father of three whose car was found abandoned on the side of the road in Ocklawaha Florida in March 2023. No-one has seen or heard from him since.

David had two great loves in his life, his family and the great outdoors. When he wasn’t doting on his kids, or talking literature with his mother, he could usually be found hiking his way through the trees and trails of Ocala National Forest. David would regularly embark on multi-day trips to Ocala, which explains why when he went missing, no-one was overly concerned at first. However, after several days without contact, they began to sense something was amiss. David was a very experienced hiker, one who knew the forest like the back of his hand. Other than a broken leg or a bear attack, his loved ones couldn’t imagine any scenario that would prevent him from returning home. When his vehicle was discovered, weeks after his disappearance, on a road running through the middle of Ocala, with its windows broken and its engine disabled, it created more questions than answers.

 

EPISODE 75 – Alexandria Lowitzer (USA)

The Missing podcast returns to North America for a second season – and in our first episode, we tell the bewildering story of the disappearance of Alexandria Joy Lowitzer.

Alexandria, or ‘Ali’ to her friends, was just sixteen years old when she vanished from Spring, Texas over a decade ago. Like most teenagers her age, she had her own personal struggles. Her parents had recently separated and she was being bullied at school, but in April 2016, she had so much to look forward to. For a start, she was mere months away from getting her braces off. Ali was also exploring the idea of going to art college and she had recently started her first part time job at a local burger joint. In fact, it was whilst on the way to her place of work after school one afternoon, just a fifteen minute walk from her family home, that Ali disappeared without a trace.

 

EPISODE 74 – Marshal Iwaasa (CANADA)

In our final episode of the season, we bring you the story of Marshal Iwassa, a 26 year old man from Alberta Canada, whose burned out truck was discovered by hikers in a remote forest north of Vancouver in November, 2019, whilst Marshall himself, was nowhere to be found.

The discovery of Marshal’s truck prompted an endless number of questions. Who had set the vehicle on fire, what was it doing so far from Marshal’s home and most importantly, where was its owner?

We spoke to Marshal’s sister Paige, who has been searching for the answers to these questions for the better part of five years. She shares her theories about what happened to her brother, her frustrations at the lack of progress made by the authorities and her hopes that one day, she’ll finally learn the truth about what happened to her brother.

 

EPISODE 73 – Clarissa Culberson (USA)

In this episode we cover the tragic story of Clarissa ‘Carrie’ Culberson, a 22 year old woman who vanished without trace from her home in Blanchester Ohio, after a night spent partying with friends in 1996.

Carrie was murdered by her boyfriend Vincent Doan, a local man she’d been seeing on and off for two years, someone with a rap sheet longer than he was tall. We normally don’t cover murder cases on ‘The Missing’ but Carrie’s mother Deb’s decades long effort to locate her daughter’s body, means there is still very much a question mark at the heart of this case. We spoke to Deb about her decision to continue her quest for the truth, one that won’t stop until her daughter is laid properly to rest.

 

EPISODE 72 – Skye Budnick (USA)

This episode tells the tale of Skye Budnick, a shy, unassuming 21 year old college student, who in 2008, completely out of the blue, bought a one way ticket to Japan and has never been seen since.

You’ll hear from Skye’s sister Megan, who, within days of her sibling’s disappearance, found herself on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. There, over 6,000 miles from home, she was faced with an impossible task. To locate her sister in a place she did not know, amongst people whose language she did not speak, and whose culture she did not understand.

 

EPISODE 71 – Charles Horvath Allan (CANADA)

In this episode, we recount the story of Charles Horvath-Allan, a 20 year old British man, who in 1989, left his home to hike across Canada, and has been missing ever since.

Charles had made it as far as the city of Kelowna, where he was last seen cashing a cheque at a bank in May. He was scheduled to meet his parents in Hong Kong that August. The fax he sent, detailing his excitement about their reunion and inquiring about the wellbeing of the family’s cats, was the last time they would ever hear from him.

We spoke to his mother Denise, about her decades long investigation into British Columbia’s backpacking circuit and about the impact her tireless search for the truth about what happened to her son has had on her.

 

EPISODE 70 – Nancy Moyer (USA)

In this episode, we cover the tale of Nancy Moyer, a 36 year old mother of two, who vanished from her home in Tenino, Washington, on March 6th 2009.

We spoke to Nancy’s daughter Sam, who vividly remembers the day she was dropped off at her mother’s house, only to find it completely empty and the front door wide open. The decade plus long investigation that followed, has been a whirlwind of false starts, spurious allegations and bogus confessions.

 

EPISODE 69 – Maura Murray (USA)

In this episode, we tell the story of the disappearance of Maura Murray, a case you’ve likely heard of before.

When Maura, a 21 year old nursing student from Massachusetts, vanished after crashing her car on a remote section of Route 112 in Haverhill, New Hampshire, her story quickly spread across the internet. Her case coincided with the launch of Facebook and speculation around what happened to Maura that night, made her one of the first true crime sensations of the social media age.

We spoke to Maura’s sister Julie, who walks us through the at times bizarre series of events that led her sister to Haverhill that night and shares her theories about what happened to her on that lonely stretch of road.

 

EPISODE 68 – Jesse Lee Farber (USA)

In this episode we tell the story of the troubling disappearance of Jesse Lee Farber, who vanished in 2015.

The last contact anyone had with Jesse was a phone call he made to his partner Rachel. It gave a vague location, and indicated he was in trouble. But there have been no sightings, and no word from Jesse since. This episode hears from Rachel – learns about her relationship with Jesse and unpacks the events that led to him leaving home, and finding himself in need of help.

 

EPISODE 67 – Elisa Roberson (USA)

The Missing Podcast travels to North America – and in this first episode we tell the story of the baffling and tragic disappearance of Elisa Roberson.

Elisa was born in Nicaragua, but settled in Texas with her mother, in search of a better life. But her story comes to an end in August 1989, when she was aged just 13 – after she disappeared after setting off on a walk to meet a friend. Speculation has swirled ever since around exactly what happened. Fingers have pointed in multiple different directions. But the family and law enforcement feel they are no closer to getting the answers they crave.

 

EPISODE 66 – Steven Durand

The first twenty-four hours of a missing person case are the most crucial. Its of vital importance that the authorities are working with the most accurate and up to date information in order to best direct their search efforts.

Steven Durand was 31 when he went missing in Salford, in the North West of England. He was a mixed race man who walked with a limp, due to cerebral palsy. He had learning difficulties and mental health problems and was known to the local police as vulnerable. When the police first began searching for him, they mistakenly described him as white, later correcting the error but wasting valuable time and resources, looking for the wrong man. The last sighting of Steven was on October the 20th, 2018. He was captured on CCTV, wearing a black coat, and grey sweatpants, holding a can of fizzy drink that he then purchased. Salford was not an area Steven usually visited – his family have no idea why he was there. And they are yet to find out. Because that CCTV footage of Steven? It’s the last anyone ever saw of him.

 

EPISODE 65 – Charlene Downes

The disappearance of 14 year old schoolgirl Charlene Downes is one of the most notorious missing person cases in UK history. When Charlene vanished from Blackpool in the North West of England in November 2003, it resulted in a media frenzy, one monetized by tabloids cashing in on rumours and exploited for political purposes by the far-right. In the two decades since she vanished, countless theories have been suggested and dozens of suspects put forward, including members of Charlene’s own family. Very few missing person cases have received such coverage and scrutiny, yet, today, her loved ones are no closer to learning what happened to Charlene that night, than they were over twenty years ago.

 

EPISODE 64 – Sarm Heslop

Sarm Heslop was never afraid to choose the road less travelled. The 41 year old from Southampton, couldn’t bear the thought of spending forty hours a week in an anonymous office, chained to a computer. Which is why, in the spring of 2021, she found herself working on a catamaran on St John in the US Virgin Islands. Sarm was working as the boat’s chef, captained by her partner at the time. One night, whilst moored at the harbour, the pair went ashore for dinner and drinks. Their return journey, as they approached the dinghy that would get them back to the boat, was picked up by CCTV. A short while later, In the early hours of the morning on March 8th, the police received a panicked phone call, saying that Sarm had vanished. That footage, taken from the harbour, would be the last ever taken of her.

 

EPISODE 63 – Marshal Iwaasa

All of us have things that we associate with the people that we love: a smell of perfume they wear; a taste of something they might cook; a personal possession which they once gave us, or which once belonged to them. When it comes to her brother, Marshal, what pops into Paige Fogen’s head is his truck. Marshall drove a dark blue, 2009, GMC SIERRA pickup. It was his pride and joy. Marshall and Paige had driven thousands of miles together in it over the years. The siblings had gone through a lot, and the truck represented their journey together, both physical and emotional. So when the truck was found abandoned and burned out, by a group of hikers in a remote wooded area near Pemberton, Canada, Paige’s reaction was visceral. What was the truck doing there in the first place? And most importantly, where was its owner: her brother? That’s a question Paige has been trying to answer, for over four years now.

 

EPISODE 62 – Patricia Duncan

In many missing person’s cases, there’s a potential suspect, a clear motive, or a reason why the missing person might have wanted to vanish….But sometimes cases come along with none of that. Cases which feel like such a mystery, it’s hard to know what to think or where to start. Cases like that of 51 year old mother and grandmother, Patricia Duncan, who disappeared more than 20 years ago from a quiet seaside village on the coast of Scotland. From the outside Patricia lived a full life. She had 7 children and 11 grandchildren who she doted on. She was part of the local amateur dramatics group, and shared hobbies with her husband George. She had no known financial stresses, or mental health concerns. Yet, in 2002 as a huge storm raged outside, Patricia went missing from her home in the middle of the night. And no one in Patricia’s family has heard from her since.

 

EPISODE 61 – Nancy Moyer

In season seven of The Missing, we’re examining, for the first time, missing person cases outside of the UK and Ireland. Today’s episode takes us to the United States, and the city of Tenino, Washington. That’s where Nancy Moyer, a 36 year old mother of two, who worked at the department of ecology, lived. When her daughter Sam thinks of her, she imagines Nancy smoking on the porch of her house. She recalls her enjoying a glass of wine in the kitchen. She remembers the feeling of her mother’s arms wrapped around her, after she’d crawled into her bed. But she also can’t forget the day, in March 2009, when she arrived at her mother’s place with her father and sister and Nancy wasn’t home. Her cigarettes were in their usual spot on the porch. Her wine glass was on the living room coffee table. The front door was ajar and Nancy Moyer was nowhere to be seen. Fifteen years later, Sam is still searching for her.

 

EPISODE 60 – Cian Langelaan

The moment when a child enters adulthood is a tricky time for every parent. Do you get involved when they make mistakes, or in a bid for independence, do you let them figure it out themselves? For Anthea Langelaan, this question was one she grappled with endlessly. Every time she reached out a helping hand to her son, Cian, who lived in a small village in Donegal, Ireland, he would refuse all offers of assistance or guidance. Eventually, she made the tough choice to simply let him go his own way. Until tragically, one day in September 2020, she received the earth shattering news that her child was missing.

 

EPISODE 59 – Svetlozar Yotov

Living in a big city can make you feel small. It’s easy to feel isolated – despite being surrounded by millions of people – to lose sense of community and, perhaps, your self. Community was very important to Svetlozar Yotov, who lived in Angel, in central London. To the 30 year old aspiring culinary entrepreneur, his personal relationships were the most valuable things in his life. You could see it in the way he interacted with his flatmates – whom he loved to cook for – and in every text, phone call and encounter with his family. So, in October 2021, when Svetlozar’s family had not heard from him in 48 hours, they immediately knew something was wrong. He wasn’t answering his phone and a visit to his flat revealed he hadn’t been home for days. Over two years later and his family still have no idea where he could be.

 

EPISODE 58 – Daniel Hives

Imagine you’re working at a fairground. All around you, ferris wheels are rotating, bumper cars are colliding at top speed and the air is full of the sound of raucous laughter and the smell of deep fried food. What a place to be when whilst casually scrolling through your phone you spot a message from someone. Someone who knows your brother. Someone who is getting in touch to tell you that your brother is missing. The emotional whiplash Robbie Hives felt at that moment, when he found out that his older brother Daniel was missing, was like something out of a work of fiction. Almost a year later, Robbie just wants to know how the story ends.

 

EPISODE 57 – Isabella Skelton

Isabella Skelton was many things to many people but first and foremost, to her daughter Lynda, she was a Mum. The void she left in the lives of those who loved her has remained, ever since the day she vanished back in 1969, when she left her home on Lidiard Street in Crumpsall, Manchester and was never seen again. Strangely, Isabella wasn’t reported missing to the authorities at the time of her disappearance. Fifty years later, Lynda, determined to find out what happened that day, walked into the police station with her own daughter and reported her mother missing, setting into motion a brand new investigation into a decades old mystery.

 

EPISODE 56 – Trevor Farthing

It’s hard to ever truly know what’s going on in someone’s head. Most of us are fighting private battles, the details of which we don’t disclose to even the dearest people to us. Trevor Farthing, who lived in St Helen’s, Merseyside, was no stranger to mental anguish. Over the years, his long term partner Marie saw in front of her very eyes how the joyful and generous man she’d spent more than three decades with, could fall victim to bouts of acute anxiety and severe depression. There were times when it seemed as if Trevor was in charge, like when he was handcrafting something artistic in the back garden or going on a lengthy bike ride with Marie but there were others where his demons got the better of him, as they do of all of us from time to time. On June 21st, 2017, Trevor vanished. More than six years later, Marie is still searching for the answer to what happened that day.

 

EPISODE 55 – Sammy Townsley

Whenever someone goes missing, we inevitably put our last interaction with them under a microscope. For Ann Margaret Allan, her final conversation with her brother Sammy Townsley is one that will be forever seared into her memory. Growing up in a traveller family, he saw his fair share of discrimination from an early age and sadly, as he made his way through adolescence and into adulthood, he found solace in bad company and illicit substances. Sammy would occasionally get into trouble with the authorities or find himself sleeping rough on the streets, but his family always made sure he knew that no matter how bad things got, they would always be there to pick him up when he fell down. But in October 2016, after a particularly emotional phone call with his sister, Sammy went to ground and hasn’t come back up for air since.

 

EPISODE 54 – Imelda Keenan

Imelda Keenan kept a diary, where she wrote down her most personal feelings and aspirations. In 1994, she was 22 years old and living in Waterford City in the Southeast of Ireland. There she lived in a second story bedsit just a stone’s throw away from the river Suir. She was a student, she had a boyfriend and a family that loved her. But on January 3rd, she walked out of her home and was never seen again. A home her family have since searched every inch of, for Imelda’s diary, hoping to find some clues about her whereabouts. Almost thirty years later, Imelda’s disappearance remains a mystery that haunts her family to this day.

 

EPISODE 53 – Neil Skinner

You’re in your home office. It’s the middle of a busy work day and the house phone rings. You pick up, slightly irritated at the interruption, only to be greeted by the police and asked if you are your father’s next of kin. We all know that nothing good comes after that question. Kate Armitage, whose father, Neil Skinner went missing in the Scottish highlands in 2022, lived that experience. After slowly piecing together her elderly father’s movements, who had neglected to tell his family he was even in Scotland in the first place, Kate began the arduous process of liaising with mountain rescue, sitting by the phone for news and even heading out into the treacherous territory herself, in an effort to find out what happened to her father on the night he went missing.

 

EPISODE 52 – Jill Brown

Older sisters, for those of us that have them, leave an indelible mark on the lives of their younger siblings. Whether it’s the music they played, the jokes they told, or the secrets they shared, being around them felt like a sneak preview of adulthood.

Jill Brown, who was nineteen years old when she vanished without trace from the seaside town of Dovercourt, Essex, was beloved by her younger sister Libbi. So much so that she insisted on meeting her at her bus stop every evening when she got home from her job at a local laundry. But one foggy night in January 1978, as Libbi watched the doors of her sister’s bus open, her smile turned to a frown when they closed again with no sign of Jill. Forty-five years later, Libbi is no closer to learning what happened to her sister on that fateful day.

 

EPISODE 51 – Aamina Khan

The sixth series of The Missing begin with the heartbreaking story of Aamina Khan. We urge you to listen to her father, Safraz.

Imagine you’re a parent, sharing custody of your young child with an ex partner. You go to collect them one day and no-one answers the door. Perhaps wires have been crossed and dates and pickup times have been miscommunicated? That wasn’t the case for Safraz Khan, who in 2011 learned that his ex-wife had abducted their eight year old daughter Aamina and taken her to Pakistan without his knowledge. What followed for Safraz was years of pain and confusion as he did everything in his power, to track down his child. Along the way, he dealt with corrupt police officers, hostile family members and grappled at length with the British legal system. A decade later, he’s still fighting to bring Aamina home.

 

EPISODE 50 – Lisa Pour

When it comes to long term missing person’s cases, you never quite know when you’re going to catch a break. Most lay dormant for years at a time, with nothing in the way of new clues or leads, leaving relatives and authorities alike feeling like they’ve exhausted every avenue of inquiry…

Such was the case for Lauren Saffery, whose mother Lisa Pour was last seen in Willesden Green in north west London on the 16th of January, 2013. For close to a decade, there wasn’t a shred of fresh evidence regarding Lisa’s whereabouts. Then, out of the blue, an anonymous phone call was made to the Metropolitan police…and the mysterious voice at the end of the line claimed to have information vital to the case…

 

EPISODE 49 – Sandra Collins

It’s a sad fact of life that in the major cities of the world, missing person cases are a dime a dozen. In places like London, New York and Tokyo, tens of thousands of people vanish every year, to the point where they’re barely even newsworthy.

But in a quiet seaside village like Killala, on the west coast of Ireland, the disappearance of just one person can upend an entire community. That’s what happened when twenty eight year old Sandra Collins left her home on a wet December night in the year 2000…and never came back. For her brother Patrick, her disappearance has cast a long, dark shadow over the region and has haunted the Collins family ever since.

 

EPISODE 48 – James Miller

On the 23rd of March 2020, due to the growing threat posed by the coronavirus, the United Kingdom locked down. For most of us, it marked the start of many months spent trapped in our homes, where the lack of freedom and face to face contact with others, had a profound effect on our collective mental health.

One such person was James Miller, a thirty-seven year old mechanic, who on the night of December 22nd 2020 walked out of his family home, never to return. James was already wrestling with depression and the break up of his marriage…Did he reach the end of his tether after spending the better part of a year unable to meet his friends in the pub, or watch his beloved Warrington Wolves in action? It’s a question his sister, Emma, desperately needs answered…

 

EPISODE 47 – Kevin Hicks

500 yards is a relatively short distance. Its about the length of four and a half football pitches, a journey most of us could make in six minutes or less.

It also happens to be the distance between Sperrings community shop on Lower Addiscombe Road in Croydon and the home of the Hicks family. On a cold spring night in 1986, sixteen year old Kevin Hicks walked out his front door with nothing but a pound in his pocket and headed in the direction of the local shop to buy some eggs. He never came back. Over thirty five years later, his younger sister Alex is still waiting for Kevin to come home…

 

EPISODE 46 – Simon Hodgson-Greaves

Rachel Pickthall has been birdwatching for as long as she can remember. It’s a passion she shared with her older brother Simon and as children, the pair spent many an evening together camped out in their back garden, bird guide in one hand and binoculars in the other.

In late December 2013, Simon, then aged 48, travelled to Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast, the UK’s largest mainland seabird colony. The last few years hadn’t been kind to him. His marriage had broken down and he had recently been diagnosed as bipolar. At the time, Rachel was living in Dubai, over 5,000 miles away. That’s where she was when she got the phonecall telling her that Simon’s beloved campervan had been found abandoned in the sanctuary’s car park and that her brother was nowhere to be found.

 

EPISODE 45 – Sandra Gant

Sandra Gant of Clacton-on-Sea in Essex has three daughters, Carrie, Michaela and Lauren. Their relationship with their mother has always been fraught, complicated as it was by her struggles with alcoholism. Sandra lost a lot of battles with her demons over the years but as we all know, addiction is a war…one Sandra was very much still fighting when she disappeared on the 14th of November, 2003. The Gant siblings knew the police could only be so helpful…Only they knew their mother’s routine, the places she liked to frequent and, most importantly, the colourful cast of drinking companions she had accumulated over the years. Jumping into Carrie’s car, they realised it would be up to them to piece together her movements and try to bring their mother home…

 

EPISODE 44 – Jean Tighe

Consider what the average person goes through when they’re trying to locate a missing loved one. For starters there’s the ongoing dialogue with the authorities, where you’re doing your utmost to provide the investigation with the information it needs to progress. Then you have the media, as well as poster and online campaigns to manage, in an effort to get the word out as quickly as possible. Finally there’s fraught emotions to contend with, those of your immediate family first and foremost, who all need to be kept in the loop at all times, and then of course your own…Now add to that already nightmarish equation a foreign country and an uncooperative police force. That’s what Leona Tighe has been dealing with since her 38 year old sister Jean, from County Cavan in Ireland, walked out of her hostel in Portugal on July 13th 2020 and vanished without a trace.

 

EPISODE 43 – James Nutley

It doesn’t matter how old your children get, whenever they go on a trip you’re always dreading that phone call…The one that often comes in the early hours of the morning…The one with the solemn voice at the end of the line.

The Nutley family of the Welsh village of Caerwent, received one such call in October 2004. James, who at 25 was the eldest son, had failed to return to his hotel after the first night of a golfing trip. His mother Catherine, wasting no time, immediately drove the hundred odd miles to the seaside town of Tenby, where the tournament was taking place. It’s a drive she and her husband Jeff make twice a year to this day, a pilgrimage they have no intention of stopping, until they find out the truth about what happened to James that night…

 

EPISODE 42 – Carmel Fenech

When Carmel Fenech went missing in London in the summer of 1998, her mother Deirdre, of Broadfield, Crawley, didn’t panic. She was well practised at bringing her daughter home. This wasn’t the first, second or even tenth time her child had gone AWOL. Carmel had a well documented drug problem, one that had pulled her into the orbit of people and places that no-one, let alone a sixteen year old girl, should find themselves. Deirdre knew exactly what corners to go to and what doors to knock on…But what happens when you search all of the usual haunts and come up empty? How do you convince the authorities that this isn’t like the other times? That you’re not going to hear the unmistakable rattle of her key in the door at some ungodly hour a day, a week or even a month from now? Decades later, Deirdre, and the rest of the Fenech family, are no closer to learning the truth.

 

EPISODE 41 – Steven Clark

What would you do if the police knocked on your door one day and told you they had just arrested your parents for your brother’s murder? That was the nightmare scenario facing Victoria Orr, whose beloved mother and father were taken into custody in September 2020, suspected of killing their own son. Steven Clark had vanished during a walk in the seaside village of Saltburn almost two decades earlier, when he was twenty-three years old. The media frenzy that followed is a textbook example of the modern true crime machine, as the authorities pushed, the media pulled and the Clark family found themselves at the centre of a story that threatened to swallow them whole.

 

EPISODE 40 – Human Trafficking

Take a look on the list of missing people on the missing people website, and you’ll see a large number of them are Vietnamese nationals. For years, traffickers have been bringing young people into the country from Vietnam – often illegally – and these people have then gone missing. This episode explores this issue – asking how they arrive in the country, why they vanish, and why it’s often the case that they’ll escape the relative safety of local authority care to once again disappear.

 

EPISODE 39 – Anthony Stammers

Anthony was 27 years old when he vanished in 2012, near his home in Colchester, Essex. He withdrew cash at an ATM a few minutes walk from the house he shared with his parents. But from there… he seemingly vanished. Police investigators used data from his phone to reveal he’d last been around 2-3 miles from home, but they had no clue exactly where he had gone, or why. And for ten years there has been no further sightings.

 

EPISODE 38 – Lorraine Freeman

Lorraine was 35-years-old and lived in Essex. She was last seen by her partner, in 1998, waving him off in a taxi as he took a trip abroad. When he returned, there was no sign of Lorraine, and there have been no sightings since. This episode tells Lorraine’s story and asks listeners if they might hold the vital clue which could finally resolve this mystery.

 

EPISODE 37 – Philip Fudge

Philip was 21 years old when he was last seen leaving a Christmas party, at a Navy barracks in Liverpool. He was last seen getting into a taxi with two women and another man. But from there – what happened to Philip isn’t known. Helicopters and police divers searched 200 miles of coastline, with no trace of him. This episode explores the events around his disappearance, and the efforts from his family to track down the answers they so badly need.

 

EPISODE 36 – Stephen Gibbs

Stephen was 21 years old when he travelled to France, to take part in the grape harvest, in 1975. He arrived, and worked on the vineyards. And at the end of picking season he travelled to northern France, by train. But from there – the trail goes cold. This episode asks what happened to Stephen, and follows the clues as to where he went next.

 

EPISODE 35 – Louise Tume

This episode takes us into the UK care system – and the story of how a young girl disappeared after a string of failed foster placements. We hear from her sister Rebecca – still desperate for news on what happened to Louise – amid fears that she fell into a dangerous crowd, and perhaps came to harm. Louise was 18 when she vanished, in June 2005, from her home in Durham, with the last sighting a week later in North London.

 

EPISODE 34 – The Gentleman

This extraordinary story is a current live investigation. When a body was found floating in the North Sea in July 1994, it was German police who began an investigation – they learned that the man was in his 40’s or 50’s, smartly dressed, and he became known as ‘The Gentleman’. But despite extensive investigations, they couldn’t identify him, and the man was buried in a un-named grave. Now – working with Locate International, the German Police are re-investigating. They believe that the clothes the man was wearing indicate he’s likely to be British. This podcast is part of a major publicity drive to try and shed new light on the identity of The Gentleman.

 

EPISODE 33 – Thomas Moore

Thomas disappeared at the age of 31, in 2003. He was in Italy, in the town of Ancona, when he withdrew some money from an ATM. But from there – there has been no contact from Thomas to his family. This episode explores a brothers love – a story of a man who would often go travelling, on religious pilgrimages, and who would sometimes disappear for periods of time. And it’s a story of hope, that Thomas will be found alive and well. The episode charts a number of more recent sightings, of people matching his description.

 

EPISODE 32 – Mary Boyle

Mary was 6-year-old when she disappeared in March 1977, in the Republic if Ireland. Her case is the longest running missing-child case in Ireland, a mystery which triggered a huge search from the police, army, and hundreds of local volunteers. Mary was last seen walking towards her grandparents farm. But despite that massive land search, no sign of Mary, or where she went, was ever uncovered.

 

EPISODE 31 – Lee Boxell

Lee was 15 year old, when he was last seen in September 1988, on Sutton High Street. His case is one of the highest profile missing children’s cases – a young lad who had told his parents he was off to watch a football match, but who never returned home. It’s a case which has links to known paedophiles, an extensive nationwide campaign, and a determined effort from Lee’s family to find answers.

 

EPISODE 30 – Andrew Capon

Andrew Capon disappeared on October 2, 1998 after a night out in Ingoldmells. The father of three from Grantham was out with some friends after going to the coast to close down his caravan. He became separated from the group and vanished, never to be seen again. Andrew was last spotted on North Parade in Skegness at around 1am. His ex-partner, Sue, shares her desperation to find out what happened to him.

 

EPISODE 29 – Fiona Sinnott

Fiona Sinnott, 19, went missing on February 8, 1998, after leaving her local pub in Broadway, Ireland, to make the 14km walk back to her home. She was never seen again. Fiona’s cousin and sister reveal what they believe happened to her, as well as how the family took the search for her into their own hands. And the episode explores a terrifying detail: Fiona is just one of a number of lone women, who disappeared from an area of Ireland dubbed ‘The Vanishing Triangle’.

 

EPISODE 28 – Steven Cooper

Steven Cooper’s car was found abandoned at Loch Laggan in the Highlands after he drove hundreds of miles from his home near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on January 21st, 2008 – his 47th birthday. Extensive searches were carried out over a 50 square-mile area, using RAF helicopters, search dogs and mountain rescue teams but no trace of him has ever been found. His sister Trish Cooper tells The Missing about her brother’s “bizarre” disappearance, and her hope that he could be living a new life.

 

EPISODE 27 – Wembley Point Woman

On the 29th of October, 2004, a woman was seen jumping from the window of the 21st floor of Wembley Point, London, England. She was wearing a maroon bomber zip-up jacket with fabric cuffs, a black leather glove on her right hand and a very thin black polo neck jumper. Over the top of this, she wore a claret crew neck jumper. She wore black tights, trousers and black Sketchers boots with a zip and buckle on the sides. She wore a stud in the right ear and a watch with a black strap and silver face.

Who was she?

In this compelling episode, we dive into this unidentified body case. We work ‘alongside’ Locate as they try to determine the identity of ‘The Wembley Point Woman.’ And along the way we hear from key individuals about various fascinating pieces of the puzzle. Can we solve this mystery?

 

EPISODE 26 – Gary Burns

Gary Burns was working in the Turkish resort of Icmeler when he disappeared without a trace, in the summer of 2016. Originally from Birkenhead, Gary had lived in Turkey for several years, after starting a relationship with a Turkish woman during a holiday. Gary’s family became worried when they didn’t hear from him for a few months, and his brother – Terry – reveals what the years since have been like for the Burns family.

 

EPISODE 25 – Sandy Davidson

Sandy Davidson, 3, disappeared on April 23rd, 1976, while he was playing in the back garden of his house in Irvine, Ayrshire. His two-year-old sister – who was playing with him – provided a key piece of evidence at the time, and tells The Missing how she’ll never stop looking for her brother.

 

EPISODE 24 – Kevin Fasting

Kevin Fasting went missing from Liverpool, Merseyside, on November 21st, 2003, leaving behind a note for his children as the only clue to where he’d gone. This episode of The Missing tackles the issue of suicide, and meets a son who will never stop searching.

 

EPISODE 23 – Maria Burnadette Aldridge

Maria Bernadette Aldridge was a 17-year-old cadet nurse, who disappeared some time during the summer of 1968, during her second year at a nurse cadet course at City Hospital. Her sister Cathy tells Maria’s story, including the details of a mysterious letter found decades later.

 

EPISODE 22 – Marcus Rigby

Marcus Rigby – or Marc to his loved ones – disappeared in April 1995, aged 27, after saying he was ‘going away’ and would ‘phone in a week.’ It was a call that has never been made to his family, who were living in Grange-over-Sands at the time of his disappearance. After 27 years, Marc’s family are still full of hope for his reunion with them.

 

EPISODE 21 – Luke Durbin

Nineteen-year-old Luke Durbin went missing in the early hours of Friday, May 12, 2006. Luke, from Hollesley, had gone for a night out with friends in Ipswich on Thursday May 11th, leaving his mobile phone and other personal belongings, including his motorbike, at a friend’s house in Woodbridge. He went to Zest nightclub in Ipswich with friends, but became separated from them during the evening. Luke’s mum Nicki describes the search that followed, and her interest in a blue car captured on CCTV the night of Luke’s disappearance.

 

EPISODE 20 – Hidden From View

What constitutes why some missing persons cases get attention? What are the criteria for a case making national news? And why doesn’t EVERY case receive the same coverage?

In our final episode of the series we explore the issue of equality – and ask whether your background or the colour of your skin can influence how your case is reported and investigated.

At a time when the subject of race and equality is being discussed in relation to missing persons, we shine a light on why some cases fade into the background, and ask what can be done to make a change.

 

EPISODE 19 – Georgina Gharsallah

When someone goes missing, it’s often the ‘last sighting’ which is used to try and ascertain why they went, where they went, and what happened to them. But in this case, exactly what IS the last sighting is a part of the debate.

Georgina Gharsallah has been missing since 2018 – a young mum who had endured some challenging times – but who had little reason to disappear. The days leading up to her disappearance were chaotic. And the last sighting on the morning gave no clue to where she went. But a second potential sighting, uncovered over a year later, poses a host of new questions.

So why DID Georgina disappear? Where could she have gone? And who was responsible?

 

EPISODE 18 – Damien Nettles

16-year-old Damien is one of the UK’s highest profile missing persons. He vanished after a night out on the Isle of Wight. His Mum Valerie has campaigned for 24 years to try and find answers – amidst rumours of the involvement of a local drug dealer, and claims he was abducted. We re-visit this case and ask whether the islanders are still keeping a secret.

 

EPISODE 17 – Sanjiv Kundi

How does someone vanish in one of the most populated places in the world – full of CCTV Cameras? Sanjiv boarded a train to Paris in 2013 – buying a return ticket. But after arriving in the French capital, he vanished. And hasn’t been seen or heard from since. His sister talks about the pain of losing her brother, and how the family are baffled with no explanation.

 

EPISODE 16 – Karen Milsom

Karen was 52 years old when she suddenly disappeared from her home in the South Of France. This episode hears from her best friend Claire, who reveals the devastating impact that the disappearance has had on her life. Karen was down, and in a rut, before she vanished. And an argument with her husband led to her wanting a few days to herself. Karen had £6000 on her when she left. But what happened next, is a mystery. We hear about the growing panic as Karen didn’t return. A mysterious text message sent a month later. And the reappearance of her car long after she disappeared. Has Karen come to harm? Or is she living a new life, and perhaps too embarrassed to return to her old one? Claire makes an emotional appeal for answers.

 

EPISODE 15 – Allan Bryant

This story is the all-too-frequent tale of a tragedy following a night out. Allan Bryant was a young lad enjoying what should have been a night of frivolity, an engagement party, and then a trip to the local nightclub. But when Allan didn’t return home, it soon became clear his night out had ended prematurely.

This episode hears from Allan’s dad, also called Allan, and examines the many theories that swirl around the case. Had Allan come to harm outside the nightclub? Had he been involved in an accident on his walk home? Or had something more sinister taken place? Allan Senior believes people in the community know what happened, and her urges them to speak up.

 

EPISODE 14 – Identifying Giorgios

Most missing persons cases begin with a name, a face, and a description of the person who has gone missing. But in the UK there are over 1,000 cases where the body has been found, but there’s nothing to identify them.

This episode follows investigators from Locate International, as they attempt to solve one such riddle – the body of a man they know only as ‘Giorgios’. We’re with the team as they make an international breakthrough, find clues from members of the public and even track down the unknown man’s final resting place. But as the episode airs, have they found the man’s family? And can they give them the closure they desperately want?

 

EPISODE 13 – Terry McSpadden

After an ordinary evening playing darts in his local pub in Cambridge, 24 Terry McSpadden was caught on CCTV on his journey home. That was in 2007. And it was the last known sighting of him. We unpack the possible reasons for Terry’s disappearance – the potential he started a new life elsewhere, and the role of an unusual suspect

 

EPISODE 12 – Natalie Putt

Natalie was just 17, a young mum, with an 11-week old baby, when she disappeared in 2003. Her family still haven’t given up hope of finding out what happened to her. This episode heard from her sister Rebecca – and explores a case which is still throwing up new information. And it reveals how years after the disappearance, police admitted their belief that Natalie had been killed, but lacked the evidence to identify who was responsible.

 

EPISODE 11 – Chad Gibson

When 32-year-old Chad Gibson didn’t come home after a day out nobody was immediately concerned. He was a young man able to look after himself, and go where he pleased. But as the days turned into weeks, and nobody heard from him, the realisation that Chad was missing hit home. This episode hears from Chad’s mum Sharon, and reveals how it was on Christmas morning, with no word from her son that she knew something was wrong. The episode charts the days leading up to his disappearance, a strange confrontation that preceded his final appearance on CCTV, and the unanswered questions which still swirl around the case.

 

EPISODE 10 – Esra Uyrun

It is ten years since Esra Uyrun went missing from her home in Ireland. The 38 year old was eagerly awaiting the arrival of her mother and stepmother, visiting from England. But on the day before they were due, Esra vanished. The only clues are some grainy CCTV pictures, and a puzzling set of keys. Her sister Berna is sure that someone knows what happened, and is desperate to get to the truth.

 

EPISODE 9 – Tony Haigh

50-year-old Tony Haigh disappeared without a trace on Friday 23rd February 2018. A grandfather and dad-of-three, Tony was liked by everyone who knew him. But since his disappearance, his family and friends have questioned whether Tony had secrets which could provide the answers to what happened to him. They’re determined to get to the truth.

 

EPISODE 8 – Anne Simpson

When the Simpson family waved goodbye to their Grandma Anne one Autumn afternoon in 2004, no-one realised it was the last they’d ever see of her. So what happened to the charismatic Anne Simpson, who’d recently relocated to a Lincolnshire seaside town to start a new life? Was she a victim of the sea or circumstance?

 

EPISODE 7 – Lana Purcell

Why do some missing persons cases get more attention than others – more newspaper inches and police man hours? In this episode we tell the story of Lana Purcell – a young mum who vanished from central London ten years ago. As police renew their interest in her case with a new £20,000 reward, we follow them into dark territories of depression and drugs in the hope of discovering what happened to Lana.

 

EPISODE 6 – Suzy Lamplugh

 

EPISODE 5 – Fatima Mohamed-Ali

What would you do if a loved one nipped out one morning and never came home? That’s the scenario faced by Mohamed Mohamed-Ali, after his wife disappeared from their Newhaven home in February 2016. It’s a case with no explanation, but with new sightings and new theories emerging all the time, can we help solve this case?

 

EPISODE 4 – Andrew Gosden

There are some scenarios which spring to mind when a 14 year old boy doesn’t come home – they’re with friends, they’ve lost track of time, they’re misbehaving… And that’s exactly what Kevin Gosden thought when his son, Andrew, failed to come home on the 17th of September 2007. Instead, Andrew had boarded a train to London – no-one knows why or what happened next, but Andrew hasn’t been seen since.

 

EPISODE 3 – Bernadette Cooper

Bernadette Cooper was last heard from in January 1993. She rang a friend from a pub in London, telling them she’d found the money she needed to save her bar in Spain, which was in dire straits. No one has heard from her since, and no one knows where she found the money, whether she did return to Spain, or what happened to her. In this episode, her nephew Leon reveals his theories about what happened to his aunt, as the police conduct a fresh investigation.

 

EPISODE 2 – Katrice Lee

This is a tale of every parent’s worst nightmare come true. Katrice Lee disappeared from a supermarket in West Germany on her 2nd birthday. Almost 40 years later, what happened to her remains a mystery. Her family have never given up hope and are still campaigning for answers – they believe Katrice could have been abducted and brought up by a different family. Can this episode unlock some answers?

 

EPISODE 1 – Charles Horvath-Allan

In our first episode we hear from the mother of a man who vanished in Canada over three decades ago.

That man was Charles Horvath Allan. This episode takes us across the Atlantic into British Columbia’s backpacking circuit and into the life of his mother Denise, who is still desperate for answers. She lives in hope that a new cold case unit will bring some long-overdue answers. With your help, this case could be solved.