31/01/2008
My 19 year old son, Luke Durbin went for a night out in Ipswich with friends on 11th May 2006, they became separated. Luke was last seen on CCTV at 4am on 12th May. There has been no positive sighting of Luke since. All we know is that he was trying to get home.
Over the last twenty months I have had a lot of contact with other families of missing loved ones, two mums in particular have helped me retain my sanity, Sandra Flintoft, mum of Craig Hetherington who has been missing since 2003 and the other mum, Val Nettles, whose son Damien has been missing since 1996. I am able to talk freely with them about my more sinister fears and they have made me feel normal in the most abnormal circumstances.
Through talking to other people with missing people in their lives, our feelings seemed to be echoed, there is very little support for the families left behind. There is only one National charity for 'missing' and the families left behind, Missing People. They helped enormously with publicity but they are limited in their resources in being able to offer coping strategies, counselling and a basic support group facility.
I have learnt to live my 'parallel lives', as all families of the missing have to but at times I have felt so desperate in not being able to deal with the overwhelming despair, I have called all number of organisations but I don't fit their criteria. There is nothing conclusive to suggest Luke is dead or alive, so we as families and friends of missing loved ones are expected to just "get on with it".
After many conversations albeit via email, Val Nettles and I decided something had to be done, for the families who have already lost someone and for the families who will sadly unbeknown to them, maybe in our nightmare world in the future! We are planning a march in London for families and friends of the missing and their supporters.
The aims of the march are;
to highlight all missing people in the UK and missing UK citizens that have gone missing overseas
to lobby the Government in either establishing a support group for families of the missing or giving restricted funding to a charity such as Missing People so they are able to estabish a support group for families of the missing
to lobby the Government to establish a designated Missing Persons Team within every police force in the UK, thus guaranteeing a uniformed service and support network to each family that reports a missing family member, regardless of the age, class or gender of the missing person
For anyone who maybe interested in joining families, friends and supporters of the March for the Missing, it is being held on Wednesday 12th March 2008, at 10am. Starting at 32 Gt. Cumberland Place, London.
If you are able to attend or would like more information please email themissing@hotmail.co.uk as we will have to go through official channels and contact the police with expected numbers so the march can be risk assessed. If you are unable to attend but feel you maybe able to support us in other ways, please, please email and let us know.
If you have a Faceboook account - which seems to be becoming very big with publicising missing and unlike MySpace it does not get spammed - look for March for the Missing
Best wishes
Val & Nicki
www.findluke.com
www.damiennettles.com
March for the Missing March 12, 2008 10 a.m.
32 Gt. Cumberland Place, London
Nr. Marble Arch
www.truecrimeblog.co.uk/2007/12/calling-all-families-of-missing-persons.html
Please take time to sign the petition below
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/280079339
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22/01/2008
Your help is requested in locating Frank Courtney, age 50, missing from Tralee Co Kerry since February 2002. See photo and details.
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08/01/2008
The Dublin County Coroner has made an appeal for the public's help in identifying a man whose skull was found off the Dublin coast almost two years ago.
As part of the appeal Dr Kieran Geraghty has released photographs of a reconstruction of the man's head in the hope that family or friends may recognise him. Missing Persons cases for the two years prior to the find have been checked and no match was found. See photos
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07/01/2008
The Department of Foreign Affairs is liaising with the family of Ronan Lawlor, whose body has been found in southern Chile.
Mr Lawlor, 28, went missing on 18 November 2007 after he went into the Torres del Paine national park on the Argentina-Chile border.
The Co Laois man's body was found by tourists in a remote spot near the three towers mountain peaks in the centre of the park where he went missing
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.
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23/12/2007
May we wish everyone a peaceful and safe Christmas. We remember in a special way the families of the missing at this time. May all our searches be successful and may those who have information be moved to come forward. May we treasure those who are with us.
Aquinas
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13/12/2007
BBC 1 Northern Ireland are highlighting somes cases of missing people this week on their 6.30 PM newsline programme. One programme featured the case of Gerard Conway missing from Cookstown. His family have put up a reward of £100,000. Another programme highlighted the case of Sean Ryan.
If you missed the programmes you can watch them on the BBC newsline website.
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08/12/2007
A canoeist who went missing, presumed drowned, off the English coast five years ago has turned up alive and well at a London police station.
The man was reported missing in March 2002 after he failed to appear at work.
The shattered remains of his red canoe were later found washed up on a beach near Hartlepool, Cleveland, UK.
Despite extensive searches for the former prison officer, involving aircraft, lifeboats and a Royal Navy ship, no trace of him was found.
On Saturday 1 December the man who is in his 50s and married with two children, turned up at a police station in London.
Police are to charge the canoeist, a week after he resurfaced claiming to have forgotten everything since vanishing five years ago. It now appears that his wife was aware that he was alive and well and kept this information from their family.
This story shows that things are often not what they appear to be at the start and a reminder not to jump to immediate conclusions.
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08/12/2007
The remains found in a lake in Bodyke Co Clare on the 29 November have been identified as being that of missing Limerick Man, Richard "Happy" Kelly, whose appeal has featured on this website. Mr Kelly was only 17 years old when he disappeared from Limerick on the 24th April 2006.
We extend our sympathy to the Kelly family at this time. Their search is over and he can be laid to rest. A murder investigation is underway.
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05/12/2007
Missing People (formerly National Missing Persons Helpline) is the UK's only charity that works with young runaways, missing and unidentified people, their families and others who care for them. In addition to providing services to people in the UK, they have also provided great assistance to people from the Republic of Ireland. They also operate a message home service whereby people who are missing can pass on messages to their families while protecting their privacy.
Their website is at
www.missingpeople.org.uk
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04/12/2007
There are a few cases listed on this website whose anniversaries of missing occur during December. They are Sandra Collins who disappeared from Killala Co Mayo on the 4 December 2000 and Trevor Deely who disappeared from Dublin on the 8 December 2000. Both are seven years missing this year.
Other anniversaries are Patrick Lawlor who is missing from Darndale Dublin since 16 December 2004 and Joe Gerard Reilly missing from Dublin since 11 December 2006.
If you have any information on their disappearances, please contact the Gardai. One phone call could end the nightmare.
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