[News] Missing Lancashire woman

[The Clamp]

That bloke with the canoe managed it. He even lived in his own house.

Believe it or not, that was 21 years ago!

That time has flown.

In those two decades much has changed.

But even for back then, quite a feat!

 

[juliant]

Inclined to agree now.
My sons friend went missing the first week of 2020 lockdown, and hasn't been seen since. It made the local news for a few days, but despite some celebrities getting involved in online appeals, it never made headlines once nationally as far as I remember.

If i recall was that the lad that went missing after he went looking for his girlfriend? I remember the initial media reportings i assumed he had turned up. So sad to read he never did

 

[Lenny Rider]

I am surprised how much coverage this has had. Yes, very sad story but strange to be "Breaking News" all the time.

As a nation don't we almost revel in a mystery?

We've apparently got record levels of child poverty, one more mortgage rate rise and we could see a huge number of snatch backs, the NHS is going to ratshit in front of us, strikes right across British society, yet a random woman going missing gets wall to wall coverage. A cynic might suggest its almost used as a distraction tactic.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

If i recall was that the lad that went missing after he went looking for his girlfriend? I remember the initial media reportings i assumed he had turned up. So sad to read he never did

Thats the one...Owen Harding. His girlfriend lived in York (iirc) and he was upset he wasn't allowed to go and see her when the country shut down in March '20. He was pictured on cctv walking down our road one evening when he went out for a walk, and that was the last anyone knew of his whereabouts.
Absolutely no evidence has turned up in the (nearly) 3yrs since he vanished. Very upsetting for all of us who know him and his family.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

His mum has found peace with it though now, and accepts that maybe he had a tragic accident down on the beach, and was taken by the sea.
Hard to accept for others, but it was always my initial thought as he loved hanging out down there with his mates.

 

[Sheebo]

Inclined to agree now.
My sons friend went missing the first week of 2020 lockdown, and hasn't been seen since. It made the local news for a few days, but despite some celebrities getting involved in online appeals, it never made headlines once nationally as far as I remember.

Shit that’s horrible. Do they think your sons friend is alive?

Sorry just seen other posts - so sad

 

[The Clamp]

Thats the one...Owen Harding. His girlfriend lived in York (iirc) and he was upset he wasn't allowed to go and see her when the country shut down in March '20. He was pictured on cctv walking down our road one evening when he went out for a walk, and that was the last anyone knew of his whereabouts.
Absolutely no evidence has turned up in the (nearly) 3yrs since he vanished. Very upsetting for all of us who know him and his family.

Jeez! I’d just assumed he was found because there was no further updates. Very sad.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

His mum has found peace with it though now, and accepts that maybe he had a tragic accident down on the beach, and was taken by the sea.
Hard to accept for others, but it was always my initial thought as he loved hanging out down there with his mates.

Like others I assumed he’d been found. How sad.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

His mum has found peace with it though now, and accepts that maybe he had a tragic accident down on the beach, and was taken by the sea.
Hard to accept for others, but it was always my initial thought as he loved hanging out down there with his mates.

Respect to you as well; this must have been an awful for you.

 

[Brian Fantana]

Believe it or not, that was 21 years ago!

That time has flown.

In those two decades much has changed.

But even for back then, quite a feat!

I live not too far from where he lived. I walk passed the house virtually everytime I go for a seaside walk in Seaton Carew/Hartlepool.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Respect to you as well; this must have been an awful for you.

It was tough - my son played for Woodingdean Wanderers with him for a few years, went on tour to Barcelona together etc, so the whole team & parent group were shocked to the core. Such a lovely lad.
We still find ourselves looking at youngsters when we are out and about in London etc, just in case its him...

 

[Insel affe]

It was tough - my son played for Woodingdean Wanderers with him for a few years, went on tour to Barcelona together etc, so the whole team & parent group were shocked to the core. Such a lovely lad.
We still find ourselves looking at youngsters when we are out and about in London etc, just in case its him...

My wife and daughter thought they saw him asking for money to get a bus or something the day after he went missing in Brighton.
They told the police, but you know the rest.

Extremely difficult situation, not knowing the actual truth, I am not sure I could ever let go of hope.

 

[Zeberdi]

It is a sad story, but why is this case reported on and not others?

I wonder if perhaps the relatives drive a lot of the reporting - the media will report whatever they can, if the relative and friends don’t speak to them, not much they can write about if there’s no developments. Also, bias in the media about which missing person merits the attention and who doesn’t. In this case, a lovely, attractive young, middle class white woman with a good job a ’respectable’ husband, two young children and involved in the local community.

I could never understand the amount of coverage the Madeline McCann case got over the years for example - equally tragic, equally mysterious as any other child going missing and never found. Fifteen years later, over £12m spent so far out of the public purse which imo is in itself a very questionable prioritisation of resources and over-the-top global media reporting.

It could be argued that …“(t)he media glorified the McCanns and how much effort they put into their search, they glorified the family who had ‘good’ jobs, the family who went to church. They took what they considered the ‘perfect’ family and made the world pity them. But what about every other parent who has lost a child; do their stories matter? From what I have seen, the answer is no.”

The Boar

theboar.org

 

[Zeberdi]

If i recall was that the lad that went missing after he went looking for his girlfriend? I remember the initial media reportings i assumed he had turned up. So sad to read he never did

I remember this too - I also assumed he had turned up given the lack of follow up by the press - how sad that he was never found

 

[Lenny Rider]

I wonder if perhaps the relatives drive a lot of the reporting - the media will report whatever they can, if the relative and friends don’t speak to them, not much they can write about if there’s no developments. Also, bias in the media about which missing person merits the attention and who doesn’t. In this case, a lovely, attractive young, middle class white woman with a good job a ’respectable’ husband, two young children and involved in the local community.

I could never understand the amount of coverage the Madeline McCann case got over the years for example - equally tragic, equally mysterious as any other child going missing and never found. Fifteen years later, over £12m spent so far out of the public purse which imo is in itself a very questionable prioritisation of resources and over-the-top global media reporting.

It could be argued that …“(t)he media glorified the McCanns and how much effort they put into their search, they glorified the family who had ‘good’ jobs, the family who went to church. They took what they considered the ‘perfect’ family and made the world pity them. But what about every other parent who has lost a child; do their stories matter? From what I have seen, the answer is no.”

The Boar

theboar.org

And on the back of what happened with the McCanns we ended up with Shannon Matthews situation where incredibly thick people thought they could execute the perfect crime and make money out of it.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

One thing that i think that we can all agree on that the Police know more than they are letting on too.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

One thing that i think that we can all agree on that the Police know more than they are letting on too.

What makes you think this?

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

There is of course bias but in this example it's (in my opinion) the sheer confusion around it that's keeping it high up the media circulation. The reason I'm personally so intrigued by it (and by they way, that feels horribly crass to write as this isn't a TV drama, it's a families life being torn to bits) is the fact the police appeared to state very early on their thoughts that this wasn't an abduction and that she was in the river, coupled with the private firms pretty definitive statement that if she had fallen in, they will find her with the technology, it just all feels so odd.

Again, either way it feels horrible writing about it as if it's a TV show when ultimately it seems people are going to be losing a wife, daughter, mum etc through whatever has happened.

 

[Official Old Man]

Can I ask what happened to the dog? Not seen it mentioned anywhere. Is it still alive? If not, then are they looking for both her and the dog?

 

[Ooh it’s a corner]

Dog safe and well I think - I’m sure I read the dog was dry suggesting she wasn’t trying to rescue the dog